Will the All Blacks score over 100 points and break the record?

On Friday, the All Blacks will take on the Namibians at Toulouse Stadium (9pm kick-off) as part of day two of the Rugby World Cup. The New Zealanders are vindictive and face fairly weak opponents on paper. Enough to get a new record?

This poster, which may seem unbalanced and without much flavor between New Zealand and Namibia, received a whole new attention last Friday evening. After losing for the first time in their history in the World Cup group stage (13-27), the All Blacks will have bad memories of their opening match against the French. In the land of the long white cloud the media has brought out the matches and it’s time for redemption.

Namibia, the perfect victim

Suffice it to say that coach Ian Foster and his men do not intend to do the Namibians any favors, who have the perfect victim personality to vent their anger on. The Welwitschias, that’s their nickname, rarely attend the party during World Cup finals. Although they have been playing since 1999 and have already played in Toulouse, they have never won 23 matches and maintain an average of over sixty points conceded per game.

Worse still, Namibia holds the sad record for the biggest setback during a World Cup. It was 2003, and it was a 142-0 defeat against Australia. It is not their performance against the Italians on the first day that can inspire optimism among the Africans. At Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, they were corrected 8-52 by a Transalpine team that does not play on the same field as the New Zealanders. One meeting was enough to leave with 7 attempts already under my belt.

The All Blacks, senior regulars on the books

Other strong arguments suggest the New Zealanders are more than capable of crossing the 100-point mark against the Namibians. It is worth noting that they were present four times in the top ten with the most wins in the World Cup. Their opponents appear twice today… in the victims’ camp against Australia (2) and South Africa.

So, the gaps between the best and weakest countries certainly seem less significant than they did a few years ago. But the verdict? See you on Friday in Toulouse, perhaps to see history written again.

The 10 biggest points differences in the World Cup

• Australia / Namibia : 142-0 (2003, 142 points difference)
• New Zealand / Japan: 145-7 (1995, 138 points)
• England/Uruguay: 111-13 (2003, 98 points)
• New Zealand / Italy: 101-3 (1999, 98 points)
• New Zealand / Canada: 108-13 (1991, 95 points)
• New Zealand / Portugal: 108-13 (2007, 95 points)
• England/Tonga: 101-10 (1999, 91 points)
• Scotland/Ivory Coast: 89-0 (1995, 89 points)
• Australia/Japan: 91-3 (2007, 88 points)
• South Africa / Namibia : 87-0 (2011, 87 points)