All Blacks seek performance worthy of Sam Whitelock against Namibia

SAINT-ETIENNE – New Zealand coach Ian Foster has urged his team to put in a performance worthy of the occasion in their Rugby World Cup clash against Namibia on Friday, when Sam Whitelock will play his 148th Test to equal Richie McCaw’s appearance record for the All Blacks.

Whitelock, a World Cup winner in 2011 and 2015, was named in the second row with long-time partner Brodie Retallick in a much-changed side tasked with getting back to winning ways after their opening loss to France, which followed a warm-up defeat by South Africa.

“He has been a warrior for this team for a long time and to equal someone like Richie is a massive achievement,” Foster said on Wednesday of the 34-year-old lock, who made his Test debut in 2010.

“We all know how much it means for him to pull on a black jersey and (it will be) a very special occasion, one that we have to make sure we put a performance on that gives that record a lot of respect.”

Only Alun Wyn Jones of Wales, with 170 caps, has made more international appearances than McCaw and Whitelock.

Ardie Savea will captain the side in the absence of Sam Cane, who withdrew before last week’s 27-13 Pool A opening loss to France with a back problem and is being nursed back to fitness.

Injuries also ruled out centre Jordie Barrett, flanker Shannon Frizell and prop Tyrel Lomax, while loose forward Ethan Blackadder only recently arrived in France as a replacement for winger Emoni Narawa.

“We had to adapt (our plan) based on injuries and who is coming back but we are pretty satisfied that we have a team to rebound from round one,” Foster added.

Fly-half Damian McKenzie and scrum-half Cam Roigard have been brought in to steer the backline with the former making his World Cup debut and the latter a first Test start.

“We just want him to run the game how we want to play it and I’m sure he will,” Foster said of the live wire McKenzie.

“He’s keen and he’s very clear about what we want to achieve.”

David Havili will combine with Anton Lienert-Brown in midfield, while power runners Leicester Fainga’anuku and Caleb Clarke get their chance on the wings.

New Zealand thrashed Namibia 71-9 at the last World Cup and nothing less than another big win in Toulouse on Friday will settle the nerves of the notoriously skittish All Blacks fans. The Kiwis also beat their African opponents 58-14 at the 2015 global showpiece.

“Whilst we were disappointed with the (France) result in the first round, it hasn’t moved our focus from what we need to do to in our pool games,” said Foster.

“This game is vital for us to grow and we can’t wait to get to Toulouse and test ourselves. We are expecting a very tough Namibian side to test us on Friday.”

Namibia have made three changes from the team who lost 52-8 to Italy in their opener.

Jason Benade comes in at prop, Prince Gaoseb at flanker and Le Roux Malan at centre while Richard Hardwick switches to No. 8 for the game.

Namibia’s defeat by Italy was their 23rd straight loss at the World Cup. The only game they did not lose was an encounter with Canada four years ago, cancelled because of a typhoon.

“The Italy game was a big challenge for us, especially in the set piece. Hopefully it will be better,” said Namibia coach Allister Coetzee, who coached South Africa from 2016 to 2018.

“We knew it was a tough pool and we have to throw more punches. New Zealand are a top nation and our plan is to stop the momentum and break their rhythm.

“It is not scary but we really get excited about it. New Zealand are taking this game seriously. It is good for the competition. It is a great opportunity for our players.” REUTERS, AFP