Wales ran in 12 tries against Pool D's bottom side Namibia as they secured a bonus point win to set up a showdown match with Fiji to reach the quarter finals.
First Half
It took only two minutes for Wales to score their first points of the match after Namibia's Jane Du Toit was adjudged to have collapsed the scrum by referee Steve Walsh. Record breaking fly-half Stephen Jones scored the penalty giving the Welsh an early lead.
The first try of the game came only five minutes later through Scott Williams after the 20 year old received the ball on the back of some good play by Jonathan Davies after his inside pass released Leigh Halfpenny. Stephen Jones missed the conversion from a tight angle.
14 minutes in and Wales had their second try of the match after Stephen Jones found Bradley Davies who was able to set up Dragons winger Aled Brew to score the five points. Wales' number 10 had the simple task of slotting over the extras giving Warren Gatland's side a 15-0 lead after quarter of an hour of play.
Wales were threatening to run riot as they scored their third try after 17 minutes after some great play by Ryan Jones. The Ospreys forward charged down a clearing kick and then forced the Namibians into conceding a penalty which Jones took quickly. Toby Faletau was on hand to score his second try of the tournament, a try which Jones converted.
Wales would have been delighted with the opening 20 minutes; however they eased off the gas in the second quarter of the game and failed to score any more points before the half time whistle. Wales were making several errors as the Namibians grew in confidence and they had the opportunity to score their first points of the game after Lee Byrne was penalised for not releasing the ball after being tackled. Unfortunately for Namibia, Theuns Kotze's effort struck the post meaning Wales lead 22-0 at the half time break.
Second Half
Despite having Warren Gatland's words ringing in the ears of the Welsh, it was Johan Diergaardt's side started the second half well as they put Wales under pressure with some superbly executed kicks. They failed to turn their efforts into points though and Wales secured their winning bonus point after 47 minutes through Scott Williams' second try of the match. Stephen Jones was on hand to convert the try.
Wales never looked back from then and less than three minutes later they had another seven points on the score board after the returning Gethin Jenkins showed great skill to sidestep and sprint over the try line to score the five points; Jones slotted the extras giving Wales a 36-0 lead.
Namibia's efforts were rewarded in the 53rd minute as they finally scored some points thanks to some great work from Nico Esterhuyse. The number five showed great awareness to intercept a Wales pass and he offloaded the ball to Heinz Kohl who ran from the halfway line to give the Namibians the five points. Theuns Kotze scored his first kick of the match to take the Namibians' points total up to seven.
Gatland rang in the changes as Aled Brew, Toby Faletau and Tavis Knoyle were replaced by George North, Luke Charteris and Lloyd Williams respectively.
Midway through the second period, Namibia found themselves down to 14 men after Raoul Larson was sin binned for collapsing the scrum, a problem that referee Steve Walsh had repeatedly warned the captains of.
Gatland's men took full advantage as replacement George North used his speed to run over the try line for his first try in the World Cup after receiving the pass from Lloyd Williams. Stephen Jones converted yet again to secure another seven point score for the Welsh.
Wales' number 13 Jonathan Davies scored a try that his performance deserved after 62 minutes thanks to an excellent piece of play by 19 year old North who ran to halfway and found numbers in support giving Davies the chance to score his first try in New Zealand. Stephen Jones' conversion took Wales' point total to 50 and the Scarlets' record breaker was immediately replaced by fellow Scarlet Rhys Priestland.
North scored his second try in five minutes after the Welsh players showed great handling skills to release full-back Lee Byrne. The number 15 ran across field and superbly offloaded the ball to the Scarlets' winger who showed great strength to battle his way over the try line. Priestland was successful with his first attempt from the boot giving Wales a 57-7 lead.
Larson returned from the sin bin for Namibia just before the 70th minute but Wales were rampant by this point and Scott Williams scored his third try of the game moments later after some good work by Ken Owens. Priestland slotted over from close range.
Wales scored a further three tries in the final 10 minutes of the match through Lloyd Williams, Lee Byrne and Alun Wyn Jones, the latter of which was converted by Rhys Priestland to make the final score 81-7 to Wales.
Man of the Match- Scott Williams
Wales:
Tries: Scott Williams (3), George North (2), Alun Wyn Jones (1), Gethin Jenkins (1), Lee Byrne (1), Aled Brew (1), Lloyd Williams (1), Toby Faletau (1), Jonathan Davies (1)
Conversions: Stephen Jones (6), Rhys Priestland (3)
Penalties: Stephen Jones (1)
Namibia:
Tries: Heinz Kohl (1)
Conversions: Theuns Kotze (1)
Penalties: None
