Defending champions South Africa broke their own Rugby World Cup points record with an 87-0 blitz of doughty Namibia to all but seal a place in the quarter-finals at North Harbour yesterday.
The Springboks didn’t quite replicate their landslide 105-13 win of their African neighbors four years ago, but they still finished with 12 tries, seven of them coming in the final 20 minutes as the floodgates opened.
It was a night of milestones with the Springboks bettering their previous record winning Rugby World Cup margin of 66 points against Uruguay in 2003.
Photo: Reuters
South Africa also equaled their own record run of 10 unbeaten games at the World Cup and former IRB Player of the Year Bryan Habana set a new Springbok tryscoring record with his 39th career try.
Winger Gio Aplon, replacement back Juan de Jongh and scrumhalf Francois Hougaard all scored try doubles with fly-half Morne Steyn finishing with 20 points.
Namibia gave it a crack and held the Springboks to 31-0 at halftime before the effort told and their defensive line cracked wide open.
Photo: Reuters
South Africa moved to 14 points at the top of Pool D, eight ahead of Samoa and nine ahead of Wales, needing only one more point in their final group game against Samoa next week to clinch a berth in the last eight.
The Springboks have now totted up 153 points in their three games at the World Cup and are moving ominously into form ahead of a likely quarter-final with Australia.
Habana finally overtook former scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen to establish a new Springbok tryscoring record with his team’s second try in the 22nd minute.
Right winger Aplon, who proved a handful for Namibia, scored the opening try after seven minutes, helped by centers Jaque Fourie and Frans Steyn.
However, the Springbok scoring was stalled by dropped balls and wayward lineout throws until Habana scooted clear after a great cut-out pass from lock Danie Rossouw.
The Springbok pack was relentless, with loosehead Gurthro Steenkamp prominent and were awarded a penalty try in the 30th minute after attempts for a pushover try.
Fourie extended his Springbok record for most career tries as a center to 28 when he scored off a clever Frans Steyn offload. Fourie has now scored nine World Cup tries.
Fourie’s try claimed South Africa a scoring bonus point and a 31-0 halftime lead.
Namibia had their moments in the opening half, none more than blindside flanker Tinus du Plessis punching through the Springbok line twice, while winger Heini Bock took play deep into the Springbok half in a rare excursion.
The impressive Frans Steyn crossed nine minutes after the interval off a Pierre Spies offload and Morne Steyn’s conversion pushed the Boks to a 38-0 lead.
Morne Steyn’s last act was to convert his own 60th-minute try from the sideline for a perfect seven out of seven kicks, before he was replaced along with Frans Steyn and Steenkamp.
He finished with 20 points from a try, six conversions and a penalty.
The tries began to flow late in the half as the Namibians tired, with Aplon nabbing his second and replacement De Jongh and Hougaard helping themselves to doubles.
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