Rugby World Cup 2015: Winners and Losers from New Zealand vs. Namibia

New Zealand ran in nine tries as they brushed aside a brave Nambian effort with a 58-14 win in Pool C, securing their second Rugby World Cup 2015 victory.

The All Blacks weren't quite as fluid as they would have hoped against the minnows of the section, but the much-changed lineup got the job done.

Phil Davies' team made life difficult for periods of the contest, which demonstrated the progress the lesser nations have made in terms of fitness and skill levels.

The outrageous scorelines of yesteryear may well not be seen again.

Let's have a look at the winners and losers from the Olympic Stadium, London.

One New Zealander who may have been quietly cheering the Namibians on in their damage-limitation exercise was ex-All Black Simon Culhane.

The man who now coaches Southland set a world record points tally when he amassed 45 in New Zealand’s 145-17 win over Japan at the 1995 tournament.

That lot came from a try and 20 conversions for Culhane, who was making his debut that day in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

If ever there was a fixture that presented one of New Zealand’s current crop with the chance to surpass Culhane’s mark, it was this meeting in Stratford between the highest- and lowest-ranked nations at the World Cup.

But defences of the smaller nations are far better than 20 years ago, and Namibia limited New Zealand to far fewer opportunities than the Brave Blossoms did on that memorable day.

Having dominated the stats and the scoreboard for the opening 40 minutes, the All Blacks only won the next quarter of the contest 7-5.

Steve Hansen’s men scored a try through Julian Savea but otherwise made several handling errors and looked sloppy, rather than finding the clinical edge they displayed before the break.

It was no more than their drop in performance deserved when the Namibians scored, and the underdogs only lost that period because of their unsuccessful conversion.

Johan Deysel turns 24 on September 26, and he will now have extra cause for celebration. He can live well beyond his tender years telling anyone he meets about the night he put one past the All Blacks.

After his side opted for a lineout five metres out rather than a futile kick for goal, a well-worked move put Deysel through a chink in the New Zealand defence, and the centre crashed over for a try that saw him mobbed by his team-mates. Needless to say, the vast swathes of neutrals in the Olympic Stadium rose to their feet, too.

The record for largest points haul might not have been overtaken in this contest, but one man did lose his status as New Zealand's most capped player in World Cup history.

Legendary hooker and captain Sean Fitzpatrick watched on as current skipper Richie McCaw came off the replacements bench to take over the mantle, featuring in his 18th tournament appearance.

Fitzpatrick, working for ITV during the competition, didn't seem too upset, per his congratulatory tweet.

After a game-changing performance off the bench against Argentina on Sunday, Sonny Bill Williams was given a start against Namibia, and he produced the tournament’s best moment of skill so far.

The inside centre took a short ball from Beauden Barrett and blasted his way to within inches of the African line, but rather than stretch to score, he flipped a trademark offload out of his hand back to the onrushing Malakai Fekitoa for the try.

It was an instinctive piece of skill executed in a heartbeat by the best in the business.