SAMOA SHATTER NAMIBIA’S RUGBY WORLD CUP HOPES

The dream for the Namibia national rugby union team of continuing their streak of World Cup appearances has come to an abrupt end.

After a 26-8 defeat to the Samoa national rugby union team in the Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai, Namibia will miss out on the Rugby World Cup 2027. This marks the first time since their debut that they won’t be appearing in the showpiece event.

From the first whistle, Samoa imposed their will, dominating the first half and heading into the break with a comfortable lead thanks to early tries from Jonathan Taumateine, Va’afauese Apelu Maliko and Latrell Ah-Kiong.

Full-back Jacob Umaga converted two of those and provided a steady kicking game. Namibia did manage to respond early in the second half with a penalty from fly-half Cliven Loubser, but Samoa’s discipline, tactical choices and execution ultimately sealed the win. Their driving maul close to the line in the 54th minute that sent flanker Alamanda Motuga over proved decisive.

While Namibia showed glimpses of fight by outscoring their opponent in the second period 8-7 and broke through behind a Johan Deysel assist with Jay-Cee Nell’s try in the 70th minute, it wasn’t enough to undo the damage from earlier.

The defeat ends a run of seven consecutive Rugby World Cup tournaments for the Namibians. All eyes now turn to the Samoa and Belgium national rugby union teams, who both secured back-to-back wins in Dubai and are set to clash in the winner-takes-all decider for the final slot at Australia 2027.

Image credit: Island City Media