PLYMOUTH, 30 Sept - Namibia were once again lauded for their part in an exhilarating evening at Sandy Park on Tuesday when they were beaten by Tonga, but things are not about to get easier for the Rugby World Cup's lowest-ranked side.

Looming on the horizon are Georgia, back in Devon next Wednesday, and Argentina in Leicester on Sunday week. Both countries are renowned for their scrummaging and this was a problem area for the Welwitschias on Tuesday.

0:00 / 0:00

Renaldo Bothma (pictured), their number eight who plays for the Sharks, pulled no punches after the 35-21 defeat by the Tongans, a reverse that still leaves Namibia searching for that first elusive RWC win.

"Our scrum just wasn't good enough. You can't win a game if you don't win your scrums," he said.

The likes of Davit Zirakashvili of Georgia and Argentina's Marcos Ayerza may be relishing their chances against a Namibian scrum that was shunted backwards in Exeter by a pack in which Soane Tonga'Uiha, the former Northampton prop who was recalled at the age of 33, enjoyed a particularly fruitful hour.

Bridging the gap

John Williams, the general manager of Namibian Rugby, is heartened by the progress his country is making. For a squad with eight amateurs, long gone are the days of embarrassing thrashings in Rugby World Cup finals.

"We haven't had one player who has played 50 tests. Against the All Blacks last week I think we had 391 caps in our squad, for instance. What we need is the opportunity to play more tests against tier one and tier two nations. It's unrealistic to play South Africa, but it would be beneficial to play nations like Georgia and Tonga.

"World Rugby has been very helpful to us but we need more sponsors, more private money to help us bridge the gap.

"More than half this squad will play in a competition in South Africa when the World Cup finishes, and next July we'll be together again to play against Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya. But we need to play these tier two nations to expose them to conditions that (will) make them more comfortable when World Cups come around.

Progression crucial

"We are getting there slowly but we don't want to regress when this tournament is over. We have some big boys and Namibians, like South Africans, make quality front rows. We can hammer sides like Zimbabwe up front, and when we played two games against Russia recently we did well in the scrums, but if you are not exposed regularly to world-class front rows you will struggle."

Namibia should have one of their props, Raoul Larson, back for the meeting with Georgia following a hamstring injury.

"There is a big expectation in the group. We know we are good enough to win a game in the finals but we have not been clinical enough and we'll work on that scrum. We know it's a big strength for Georgia," Williams said.

RNS im/kd