6. Namibia (22 Matches)
The 2023 Rugby World Cup marks Namibia seventh consecutive appearance at the competition, yet the Southern Africa side are yet to ever record a win. The ‘Welwitschias’ who take their nickname after a native Namib evergreen plant, have appeared in every Rugby World Cup since 1999. The closest that Namibia ever came to securing a victory, was the historic cancellation 0-0 draw against Canada.
These bizarre circumstances came about, when the 2019 Rugby World Cup was disrupted by Typhoon Hagibis. The natural disaster caused havoc across Japan, and cancelled numerous final Pool stage matches across the competition. Technically, Namibia have never played to anything other than an on-field defeat at the Rugby World Cup, with this draw against Canada coming with an enormous asterisk.
Aside from the draw, Namibia have taken 22-straight defeats at the Rugby World Cup, and in doing so have become fan favourites as the ultimate underdogs. Namibia have qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with fans eager to see their monumental first-ever win take place. Uruguay is their most realistic Pool A victory, with the group including France, Italy and the All Blacks.
Namibia’s 2019 encounter with New Zealand actually began with a 3-0 Namibian lead, as Damian Stevens slotted a penalty after three minutes. This short lived success last all of three minutes yet is fondly remembered, as the time Namibia were beating the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup. This was a far cry away from the monstrous defeat they took at the hands of New Zealand in 2003, as the All Blacks ran in 22 tries for a 142-0 shut out.
A run down of Namibia’s 22 Rugby World Cup Defeats
1999 Rugby World Cup
Fiji 67 – 18 Namibia
France 47 – 13 Namibia
Canada 72 – 11 Namibia
2003 Rugby World Cup
Argentina 67 – 14 Namibia
Ireland 64 – 7 Namibia
New Zealand 142 – 0 Namibia
Romania 37 – 7 Namibia
2007 Rugby World Cup
Ireland 32 – 17 Namibia
France 87 – 10 Namibia
Argentina 63 – 3 Namibia
Georgia 30 – 0 Namibia
2011 Rugby World Cup
Fiji 49 – 25 Namibia
Samoa 49 – 12 Namibia
South Africa 87 – 0 Namibia
Wales 81 – 7 Namibia
2015 Rugby World Cup
New Zealand 58 – 14 Namibia
Tonga 35 – 21 Namibia
Georgia 17 – 16 Namibia
Argentina 64 – 19 Namibia
2019 Rugby World Cup
Italy 47 – 22 Namibia
South Africa 57 – 3 Namibia
New Zealand 71 – 9 Namibia
Canada 0 – 0 Namibia (Cancelled)
The Rugby World Cups a
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Ivory Coast
Russia – Lost Eight Matches – 2011 and 2019 RWCs
Namibia – Lost 22 Games in a row – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia_at_the_Rugby_World_Cup
1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019
Ivory Coast – Lost 4 Games in only Appearence
Spain – Lost 4 Games in only Appearence
Portugal – Lost Four Games in Only Appearence
Zimbabwe – Lost Six Games