Live Commentary: Tonga 35-21 Namibia - as it happened

Good afternoon and welcome to today's Tonga vs. Namibia live commentary.

Today's match takes part in sunny Exeter at, funnily enough, Exeter Chiefs' Sandy Park stadium.

Without further ado we'll crack on with the teams...

Tonga: Lilo, Halaifonua, Piutau, Piukala, Veainu, Fosita, Takulua; Tonga'uiha, Lutui, Puafisi, Pole, Tuineau, Kalamafoni, Ram, Ma'afu
REPLACEMENTS: Ngauamo, Mailau, Aulika, Lokotui, Fonua, Fisilau, Morath, Helu

Namibia: Botha, Tromp, D van Wyk, Deysel, R van Wyk, Kotze, Buitendag; Viviers, van Jaarsveld, Coetzee, Venter, Uanivi, Burger, Kitschoff, Bothma
REPLACEMENTS: van der Westhuizen, Redelinghuys, de Klerk, du Plessis, van Lill, de la Harpe, Stevens, Philander

A few surprises in those lineups. Namibia have dropped Thinus de Plessis, probably their best player against New Zealand, to the bench while Chrysander Botha makes a welcome return to the XV.

Tonga meanwhile have Opeti Fonua, Kurt Morath and Will Helu on the bench. Soane Tonga'uiha and Vunga Lilo both start. That's 10 changes to the team that lost to Georgia and it is Tonga's most experienced 15 ever at a World Cup.

Tonga and Namibia have never met at a previous World Cup. In fact they have only met once before, in 1997, when a touring Tonga side beat Namibia 20-14 in Windhoek.

Tonga's flanker Nili Latu is out injured, so the Islanders have named co-captains for the first time in World Cup history in the shapes of Viliami Ma'afu and Siale Piutau.

Namibia also hold the dubious record of conceding 1000+ points in World Cup history. It occurred in their match against New Zealand and it is a record they share with the Japanese.

Sandy Park could be torn between the two sides today. Chrysander Botha currently plays for the Exeter Chiefs while Vunga Lilo used to play for nearby Cornish Pirates.

A tenuous link I know but a link nevertheless.

Out come the teams for their national anthems.

There's a lot of tears being shed during that Tonga national anthem, while the Namibians sing theirs in German.

The Tongans are currently performing their war dance, the Sipi Tau, which is not, repeat not, called the Haka.

KICKOFF! Glen Jackson and Latiume Fosita get us underway!

Namibia have an early lineout before spreading the ball wide.

Danie van Wyk makes half a break before Namibia grubber through, but Lilo is on hand to collect and Tonga win a penalty.

It's Lilo's turn to grubber through but Trump collects and Namibia send one up.

Piutau breaks through for Tonga but T-Pole knocks on and Namibia break. Deysel puts his head down before feeding Russell van Wyk who makes good yards. Tonga counter-ruck though and win the penalty.

Close! Tonga spread it wide and Veainu comes off his wing and breaks the inside shoulder. He's dropped close to the line but his momentum rolls him over the line and Jackson is going upstairs to the TMO...

It's good! The Tonga wingers strength takes him over. Lilo converts.

Theuns Kotze sends what looks like a terrible kick over the Tongan line but it's a horrible bounce and Halaifonua spills his attempted offload. Namibia have numbers over but they spill the ball and it's a Tongan scrum.

Tonga win the penalty at the scrum after Coetzee pulls it down.

The lineout is not straight though and it's Namibia's scrum.

Tonga'uiha has just destroyed that scrum though. The Namibians are in real trouble as they give away a penalty.

I mean destroyed. That looked painful.

Tonga go for the lineout and they peel off at the front. Ram carries hard but the Namibian defence is poor and he carries Bothma over the line as well as the ball. That was too easy. Lilo slices the conversion wide.

Close! Namibia charge down the clearance kick and spread it wide. Russell van Wyk hits a nice line and is held up just short of the line. They go blind but it's knocked down by Tonga and it's a penalty.

They go for the corner.

They set it up before passing wide but Deysel is penalised for holding on. Tonga clear.

Tonga win the lineout and crash it into midfield. The ball is ripped though and lanky lock Tjluee Uanivi breaks the Tonga line before passing to the supporting Tromp. Delight in the Namibia box and Kotze converts.

Tonga regain the ball from the restart and they are hammering their way into the midfield. They win a penalty after a blue shirt flies through the ruck and they go for the posts...

Horrible penalty attempt by Lilo though and he snatches it from right in front of the sticks.

Unlucky. Namibia turn the ball over from the dropout and Kotze sends a lovely chip over for Deysel to collect. He's broken the line but his offload is poor and Tonga break back up field.

And from that break Tonga win a penalty for a Namibian offside. They kick for the corner this time.

T-Pole peels off the back of the lineout before feeding his partner Tuineau. The lock is tackled just short but throws an offload which Fosita does extremely well to pick up off his shoe laces and go over. Lilo converts.

We have a scrum right in the middle of the park after Tonga fumble the ball.

Namibia fumble their attack though and a red shirt hacks it through. Botma does well to get back and Namibia clear their lines. Tonga counter but they too drop the ball after Piutau rumbles on.

Oof. That Namibian scrum is smashed again but Bothma is sneaky and runs down the blindside. He has a two-on-one with Tromp but the winger can't collect the easy pass. He could have been in there.

They are penalised from the resulting scrum again and Tonga go for the corner. Their maul has worked well so far.

They are pulled up for a forward pass though and we have an early change as Fonua replaces Kalamafoni. The Gloucester man doesn't seem to be injured.

Tonga again win a penalty after Jacques Burger is penalised for offside. Lilo lines up the kick at goal.

The fullback gets it right this time.

Veainu breaks from that kickoff and Tonga'uiha collects a loose ball to rumble on. It looks like a promising attack but the Tongans are penalised for crossing and Namibia clear.

What a break! Kotze dances through three red shirts in his own 22 with nothing else on but his teammates can't emulate him and the ball is knocked on.

Tonga again knock on after a lineout deep in Namibian territory. This is deeply frustrating from both teams.

If nobody out there knows who Opeti Fonua is by the way, YouTube him. The guy is a machine.

Close! Tonga run a strike move off the scrum and Veainu receives the ball 20 yards out with a lot of work on. He rides the tackle coming in but Botha has just done enough and not even an elaborate dive can squeeze the ball into the corner, his left hand just brushing the whitewash.

Well, this is definitely not a game for the purists but it is entertaining. Tonga look the better side and the scoreline shows but Namibia are dangerous on the break and will look to outrun these big Pacific forwards in the second half.

Veainu made the most metres that half with 78, while Johan Coetzee and Rohan Kitschoff made the most tackles with six each.

12 penalties conceded though and 24 tackles missed between both sides. See what I mean purists?

Kotze gets us back underway. Expect big gaps this second half, the players look knackered all ready.

Tonga try and rumble this up the middle from the restart but Namibia are holding firm. They eventually kick and Kotze returns with interest.

The Africans have a scrum on halfway but they lose out in the maul and Lilo and Piutau both break to put Tonga in a good position. They eventually pass forward.

T-Pole has come down hard on his ankle off that lineout and has to be helped off. Tukulua Lokotui comes on at lock for him.

That's the bonus point. Veainu catches the clearance kick from the scrum and splits a poor Namibian kick-chase. He does well to put himself in a two-on-one position and passes out to Ram who cuts inside and past Botha for his second try. Lilo snatches the conversion again to miss.

Fonua's just bulldozed his way through the opposition from that restart. Takulua box kicks but they give away a penalty and Kotze sends a lovely kick to touch five metres out.

TMO! Namibia choose to drive it from the lineout but Tonga do well to disrupt it. The maul has completely broken up and Burger thinks he has scored amidst a mass of red shirts.

Even the TMO doesn't know if a try has been scored but Glen Jackson is happy and awards it. Burger's face is a mess already but he doesn't care as he celebrates. Kotze nails a lovely conversion from out wide.

Tonga look upset now and they are pounding away in that Namibian 22. Fonua crashes in and Lilo rides a heavy tackle but Lokotui is eventually pinged for holding on.

Veainu has just danced through a load of tackles again after gathering a clearance kick. Russell van Wyk nearly intercepts a long pass but Tonga earn themselves another penalty and they go for the corner.

The lineout isn't straight though.

Namibia unsurprisingly opt for a lineout themselves considering the way their scrum is going, but they lose out this time too. Tonga recycle the ball and Ram sends a looping pass to Veainu who finishes with ease. Lilo sprays the conversion wide.

A new kicker is needed I believe.

Namibia gather Tonga's clearance kick after the restart and pump forward. Bothma is at the fore yet again and Tonga are penalised for offside. Kotze pings that ball close to the try line yet again.

Piutau is having to be helped off after Bothma accidentally catches him with his knee in the tackle, as Burger is driven into touch from that lineout.

Close! Tonga drop the ball from the lineout and Namibia pounce close to the line. Kotze sees half a gap and dives for the line but it is well ripped from him from Ram, who breaks forward.

Hang on! We're going back ages here to see if there is a try after Tonga dropped that ball and Kotze went close.

Well I tell you what, Kotze scores that but there was a knock on in the phase beforehand. Unlucky for the Africans.

Tonga smash the scrum again and win the penalty.

Kurt Morath is on now for Lilo and he's already making his mark, joining the line and throwing some nice inside passes which are gaining Tonga valuable yardage.

Fonua hits a hard line but spills the ball after steady play by the Tongans, and Namibia manage to clear.

Space is beginning to open up for the Namibians now and Botha and PJ van Lill, a dentist in his day job, do well to break the line. They win a penalty and go for the corner...

That rolling maul was far too easy. Tonga hang off and the Africans power forward with Burger dotting down at the back for his second. Kotze nails the conversion again.

Tonga throw themselves forward but Namibia have their heads up now and are defending well. Fonua spills again and Kitschoff breaks up-field.

Kotze gets isolated though and they are penalised for killing the ball at the ruck.

Tonga set up a powerful maul and Fosita bounces off a few tackles before Jackson blows for a penalty. Morath lines up a kick at the posts.

He slots it and Morath is now Tonga's highest-ever points scorer.

Replacements are flying in and out now and the game has slowed down.

A fairly innocuous ruck has been pulled up by the TMO and Tevita Mailau is penalised for a neck roll. Kotze kicks for the corner.

Close! Namibia do well to suck the Tongans in at the maul before passing out wide. The try is on but the final pass is poor and it goes behind everybody. There's another penalty though and Kotze goes for the corner again.

They drop the lineout though and Tonga get the scrum. There's a bit of afters as giant Tuineau takes offence to a much smaller Namibian.

Tonga win a penalty yet again and clear from their try line.

Burger chops Fonua down at the ankles but he can't roll away and Tonga get another scrum.

Fisilau snipes from the scrum but his offload is poor and again Fonua fumbles.

That's the game. Namibia won a lot of people over with that performance but Tonga were just too big, too strong, and too good - Veainu in particular. Georgia are up next for the Namibians, who were one good lineout and drive away from earning two points, while Tonga face a tricky obstacle in the shape of Argentina.