RWC 2015: All Blacks forced to work as Namibia stand tall

The days of three-figure thrashings look to be over as smaller nations close the gap on big guns at the best World Cup ever

New Zealand Rugby
(Image credit: Shaun Botteril/Getty)

By Gavin Mortimer

As punishments go, it was mild, more a spanking than an out-and-out thrashing. New Zealand's 58-14 victory over Namibia at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday night was as unexpected as a downpour in Dunedin, but it was far from a humiliation for the lowest-ranked team in the World Cup, whose side contains engineers, diamond traders, farmers and construction workers.

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