Thursday, 16th August 2007 at 4:39 pm

Springboks edge past Namibia

In the end the Springboks snuck home in their last home game before the World Cup, but if they hadn’t scored those last 13 tries, it could have been an embarrassing night for Jake White’s side. But they pulled through, despite the might of the Namibians - seven of whom had actually played rugby before, most of them to at least first team level at high school - and so South Africa heads for the World Cup with a narrow 105-13 victory.

The Namibians will also be at the World Cup - Ireland, France and Argentina beware - but by Feverpitcher’s calculations, we won’t meet them until the semifinals. That gives us time to warm up against the likes of England, Samoa and Wales before the last four African derby. That game will - again, by Feverpitcher’s reckoning - decide who gets to take on either Portugal or Russia in the final, and should be a cracker; will we be able to get those crucial last 13 tries next time out? We’ll see in France…