Follow live updates from the Rugby World Cup as the All Blacks and Namibia go head to head in Tokyo.
New Zealand, three-time world champions, have not lost a match at the Rugby World Cup since 2007 and stand well poised to reach the knockout stages once again. They swatted aside South Africa in their opening match before later thrashing Canada.
Steve Hansen’s men take on a nation that has never won a match at the tournament. Namibia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament with a number of amateurs in their ranks, have so far lost 47-22 to Italy and 57-3 to South Africa. Follow all the live action below:
Hello all and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of this morning's Rugby World Cup clash between New Zealand and Namibia.
We'll be bringing you all the live action, reaction and analysis from Tokyo - so make sure to stay tuned!
We'll be bringing you all the live action, reaction and analysis from Tokyo - so make sure to stay tuned!
The teamsheets are in at the Tokyo Stadium and it's confirmed no changes to the sides announced in mid-week:
New Zealand: Ben Smith; Sevu Reece, Jack Goodhue, Anton Lienert-Brown, George Bridge; Jordie Barrett, Aaron Smith; Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Nepo Laulala; Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock; Shannon Frizell, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea.
Replacements: Dane Coles, Ofa Tuungafasi, Angus Ta’avao, Patrick Tuipolotu, Matt Todd, Brad Weber, TJ Perenara, Rieko Ioane.
Namibia: Johan Tromp; Lesley Klim, Justin Newman, Johan Deysel, JC Greyling; Helarius Kisting, Damian Stevens; Andre Rademeyer, Torsten van Jaarsveld, AJ de Klerk;PJ van Lill, Tjiuee Uanivi; Prince Gaoseb, Thomasau Forbes, Janco Venter.
Replacements: Obert Nortje, Nelius Theron, Johnnes Coetzee, Johan Retief, Adriaan Booysen, Eugene Jantjies, Darryl de la Harpe, Janry du Toit.
It's fair to say the weather has turned overnight in Tokyo. Gone is the 30 degree heat and blazing sunshine of yesterday, and in its place is looming grey clouds and rain by the bucket-load. It's not enough to threaten the game, but it's certainly going to affect how the two sides play today. Don't expect too much of the expansive stuff...
Namibia spend much longer out on the field warming up than New Zealand, before heading in some 10 minutes before kick-off.
Of course, between the anthems and the match, we'll have the Haka, which caused plenty of discussion this week after Gary Lineker tweeted about it, asking how teams manage to not laugh when New Zealand perform their traditional war dance.
Needless to say, it triggered a furious response, one that caused Lineker to delete the tweet, but you can guarantee the All Blacks will have taken no notice of it ahead of today's match.
A huge cheer goes up for Jordie Barrett as his name is read out over the stadium tannoy, and it appears it doesn't matter what your first name is - the All Blacks simply love the Barrett family.
It's also worth pointing out that Brodie Retallick makes his return today following a dislocated shoulder he suffered in July against the Springboks.
Retallick was expected to miss the entire pool stage, to see him back two games ahead of schedule is quite impressive. Will he be up to speed - and a World Cup speed at that? We'll keep an eye on how he gets on throughout the match.
And here come the teams, lead out by Sam Whitelock - with Kieran Read rested - and Johan Deysel, to a rousing reception.
Time for the anthems...
Anthems over and done with...here comes the Haka.
Eery silence as the All Blacks perform the Hak, with the Namibian fans giving them the ultimate respect for it. Here we go, it's game time!
1 min: NAMIBIA KICK OFF AND THE MATCH IS UNDERWAY!
1 min: Goodhue takes the kick-off and New Zealand exit their 22 immediately, with Barrett launching a kick downfield. Venter, the Namibian No 8, runs is back with a fair bit of oomph, and the African side are off to a good start as they win a penalty for not rolloing away. It's a tricky angle and a long way out, but scrum-half Stevens will go for goal.
3 mins: What a kick! Namibia LEAD New Zealand! 0-3
5 mins: New Zealand immediately win a penalty of their own as the scrum collapses, and despite the mark being right in front of the uprights, the All Blacks go straight to the corner.
6 mins: TRY FOR NEW ZEALAND!
6 mins: Well that didn't take long, did it. New Zealand don't quite get the shove they want with the maul, but Smith and Barrett release Bridge on the crashball. With Namibia stretched, Barrett fires a beauty of a cross-field kick over to Sevu Reece, who collects and dives over to score the opening try of the match. Barrett misses the conversion, but the All Blacks lead. 5-3
10 mins: New Zealand win another penalty as Came latches into the ball, and Aaron Smith wants to go quickly. The scrum-half taps and goes before sending a low kick deep for Reece to chase, but the ball just beats him to the touchline in the Namibian 22.
Jack Goodhue's mullet looking as glorious as ever this afternoon...
13 mins: The hooker Van Jaarsveld does well to disrupt All Blacks possession and wins a penalty for his efforts, with Whitelock playing the ball while on the floor, allowing Namibia to kick to halfway.
14 mins: Namibia make a beautiful break through the heart of the All Blacks defence, with Van Lill slicing through after a neat short pass from Van Jaarsveld and then Deysel going for the line. He's hauled down by Reece short of the try line though, and the All Blacks flood in to win the penalty for not releasing and just keep their line intact. A lovely attack there.
17 mins: Retallick charges down Stevens' kick - or rather his face does as he takes the ball square on the chin, but luckily for Namibia the ball finds touch rather than anywhere for New Zealand to attack from.
A replacement for Namibia and it looks permanent, with Van Lill off and looking fairly groggy and Adriaan Booysen on in his place.
19 mins: The Namibian lineout is functioning very well so far, and it gives them the chance to attack through the middle once again. However, Newman knocks it on and New Zealand attack down the right through Reece once again. However, his chip and chase isn't enough to beat Greyling, who wins the race to the ball and touches down for a 22 drop-out.
It's syuddenly got very dark out there, and the rain has returned that should make things fairly slippery out there.
What time does it start?
New Zealand vs Namibia kicks off at 1.45pm Japan Standard Time, which is 5.45am BST, on Sunday 6 October.
Where can I watch?
ITV will be broadcasting the match. Coverage starts at 5.15am. Alternatively, you can live stream it via the ITV Hub on your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
