Rugby World Cup 2019: Battle for pride between Namibia and Canada in Pool B

Canada was beaten handsomely by South Africa in their last match.
Canada was beaten handsomely by South Africa in their last match.

The last match of Pool B athe the 2019 Rugby World Cup is set to take place between Namibia and Canada on Sunday at Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium in Iwate prefecture, Northern Japan.

The weather is expected clear with temperatures at a comfortable 20 degrees celsius. The pitch may be in somewhat rough condition after Saturday’s heavy rainfall in the region.

Both sides have already been eliminated from the tournament and are merely playing for pride here. That said, this is the last chance for either said to claim a win at the tournament in Japan.

Namibia and Canada both lost all three Pool matches to New Zealand, South Africa and Italy. Neither have managed to secure a losing bonus point and are joint bottom of the Pool.

The winner of this match will finish in fourth place. A win for Namibia will mean ittheir first-ever at a Rugby World Cup.

Both sides will want to finish their campaign on a high note. They have each shown the heart and drive to make an impact but have struggled to get the ball over the line.

Key talking Points: Namibia

  • For Namibia this is arguably their best chance to secure a victory at the Rugby World Cup. Thus far they have suffered heavy defeats against New Zealand, South Africa and Italy.
  • They are expected to field a full-strength team and approach the game with complete focus and high regard in order to achieve their long awaited first win.
  • Namibia’s best showing so far was against Italy, where they lost 47-22. This is their highest scoring game so far.

Key Talking Points: Canada

  • The Canucks have shown strong spirit at Japan 2019 and have persisted fiercely to the end at their matches played so far. Such relentlessness might be enough to secure the win here.
  • Canada have scored the fewest number of points so far in the tournament, tallying a dire total of just 14 points from three games. Handling errors have been a key cause of this.
  • Josh Larsen was sent off in Canada’s match against the Springboks for dangerous play. The lock was given a suspension of three weeks, ruling him out of their final game at Japan 2019.

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Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee