Tonga muscle to comfortable win over Namibia at Sandy Park
Last Updated: 29/09/15 7:07pm
Tonga saw off a spirited Namibian side with a 35-21 win at Sandy Park to move into second place in Pool C.
Two tries apiece for winger Telusa Veainu and flanker Jack Ram along with one from Latiume Fosita gave Tonga the win, while their poor place-kicking threatened to keep Namibia in the game.
Namibia scored three tries of their own, with two coming from Saracens flanker Jacques Burger. Winger Johan Tromp also added one, and the exemplary kicking of Namibian fly-half Theuns Kotze ensured Tonga had to wait until a 74th-minute penalty sealed the win.
The win moves Tonga into second place in Pool C, with the top three from each pool earning automatic qualification into the next World Cup, but they still need to play New Zealand and Argentina.
Namibia were shell shocked early in the game when Tonga scored two tries that came from easy line breaks.
First Veainu broke in the midfield and ran all the way to the opposition line where he was tackled, but managed to place the ball for the opening score.
Shortly thereafter Tonga opted for the line-out after a penalty and after setting up the driving maul, flanker Ram broke blind off the base. He threw the dummy and ran over to make it 12-0 after the conversion was missed.
Namibia hit back when Tonga tried to run the ball out of their own 22. A big tackle led to the ball being spilled, and Tjiuee Uanivi scooped it up to pop to Johan Tromp in the tackle, with Tromp running in untouched.
It was an easy conversion for Kotze to bring his side within five points.
Namibia were unable to add to the score in the first half, despite a very close call when a final pass metres from the line was almost intercepted by Veainu. The Tongan winger could easily have been penalised for a deliberate knock down but Jackson said the only offence was offside. Namibia went for the line-out but couldn't score the try.
Fosita added to the Namibian woe when he took a pass off his bootlaces to trot over under the poles, and with the conversion and another penalty, it looked like a long way back for the southern Africans at 22-7 at the break.
Tonga were first on the board in the second period with a second try to Ram, but Namibia fired back with Burger crossing on the back of a driving maul nine minutes into the second period. A superb touchline conversion from Kotze made it 27-14.
Ram was on hand to fire a pass to Veainu who raced for the corner next, but the conversion was missed.
Burger scored again for Namibia, and Kotze once again converted, making it close at 32-21 with 13 minutes to play, but a penalty from Kurt Morath in the closing stages helped Tonga hold out for the important win that lifts them into second place in the pool. Namibia, on the other hand, remain win-less across all Rugby World Cups.
