Namibia

8:40 am on 9 September 2011

Namibia will struggle to win a match at the World Cup.

The game is popular in the South West African nation, which used to be controlled by South Africa.

They gained independence in 1990 and formed their own union which was then accepted by the IRB.

As in South Africa, rugby is most popular amoung Afrikaans. It's popular at school, but there are only 19 clubs and around 1100 registered senior players.

Their most famous player is perhaps Percy Montgomery who was born in Namibia, but played for South Africa.

The side is captained by flanker Jacques Burger who plays his club rugby in England for Saracens.

The other star in the side is fellow flanker Jacques Nieuwenhuis who plays in France. The rest of the squad play either locally or in South Africa.

They are in a very competitive group that includes holders South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Samoa.

Namibia has played at 3 World Cups, 1999, 2003 and 2007 but are yet to win a game and suffered a record 142-nil loss to Australia in the 2003 tournament.

Coach Johan Diergaardt says they have a blend of youth and experience and should not be compared with other Namibian World Cup squads as they are the first to have spent more than two years preparing for the tournament.

Namibia is the lowest ranked team at the World Cup.