KEY POINTS:
Ireland 32
Namibia 17
BORDEAUX - Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan lambasted his team after they stuttered to an unconvincing victory over a spirited Namibia yesterday.
It was far from vintage Ireland against a team that only a month ago conceded more than 100 points against South Africa in a World Cup warm-up.
The only consolation for the Irish was that the five tries they scored ensured they earned a bonus point, a small mercy in an otherwise forgettable evening's work.
"That was horrible. It was the worst performance for a long time; very, very poor," said O'Sullivan. "We expected it to be an edgy first 20 minutes because it was the first game of the tournament but we actually got worse as the game went on."
Captain Brian O'Driscoll, who scored the first try to move clear of teammate Denis Hickie as Ireland's all-time leading try-scorer with 30, concurred with his coach.
"That was really awful," said O'Driscoll.
"We started badly and got worse as the game went on. We've got no excuses. It's like a defeated dressing room in there. We've got a huge amount to improve on in our next match."
Although Ireland went to the top of pool D ahead of Argentina, who defeated France on Saturday, both captain and coach agreed that they need to improve dramatically ahead of their next match against Georgia.
Namibia, who have only five professional and two semi-professional players, proved disciplined in defence and tough to break down. And in the second period they grew in confidence and managed two tries.
"On the day we played brilliantly. It's not a win but it could have been a win. I'm very proud of the guys," said Namibia coach Hakkies Husselman.
His captain Kees Lensing, one of the few professional players in the team, was also ecstatic. "I'm really proud of my players, we played really as a team, we showed a lot of commitment. The whole team put their bodies on the line," he said.
When Ireland opened the scoring on four minutes, it seemed as if a massacre was awaiting Namibia, but it never materialised.
After a great break by Denis Hickie, O'Driscoll chipped ahead and out-paced Tertius Losper to score, with Ronan O'Gara converting.
O'Gara cleverly orchestrated the next try, lofting a high crossfield ball that Andrew Trimble grounded for a 15-0 lead.
Emile Wessels earned the biggest cheer when he landed a penalty on the stroke of half-time to make the score 20-3 at the break.
Ireland opened the second period with a penalty try, giving them the bonus point.
But Namibia's enterprise was rewarded on the hour when Jacques Burger rounded off a lightning break from man-of-the-match Ryan Witbooi to touch down.
Four minutes later, Piet Van Zyl kicked-on and out-sprinted Girvan Dempsey for Namibia's second try.
- AFP
