The repechage series in Dubai concludes on Tuesday. The two matches on the final day see Belgium vs Samoa and Brazil vs Namibia. The winner of the former will qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027, claiming the last remaining place in the 24-team tournament.
Either Belgium or Samoa will join Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Argentina, France, Ireland, Wales, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Japan, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Tonga, USA, Canada, USA, Uruguay, and Chile in Australia 2027.
There will be no such prize for Brazil vs Namibia; however, the match has never happened before. Brazil have the opportunity of taking-on a permanent competitor from Rugby World Cups 1999-2023. The match will thus be new for players and fans alike.
Brazil fell to a late defeat against Belgium while the Welwitschias fought back well in their match against Belgium. Both sides were more cleanly beaten by Samoa, though there were positives from both Brazil and Namibia against Samoa.
Current World Ranking: 33 (52.10 points)
Nov 13, 2025 – Belgium 30-27 Brazil (Dubai, UAE)
Nov 08, 2005 – Samoa 48-10 Brazil (Dubai, UAE)
Oct 18, 2025 – Brazil 24-31 Paraguay (Jacareí, BR)
Oct 11, 2025 – Paraguay 39-19 Brazil (Asunción, PY)
Jul 26, 2025 – Chile 35-20 Brazil (Santiago, CL)
July 19, 2025 – Brazil 21-35 Chile (São Paulo, BR)
July 05, 2025 – Brazil 17-45 Argentina XV (Jacareí, BR)
Current World Ranking: 27 (56.39 points)
Nov 13, 2025 – Samoa 26-8 Namibia (Dubai, UAE)
Nov 08, 2025 – Belgium 22-15 Namibia (Dubai, UAE)
Jul 26, 2025 – UAE 29-86 Namibia (Kampala, UG)
Jul 19, 2025 – Zimbabwe 30-28 Namibia (Kampala, UG)
Jul 13, 2025 – Algeria 7-21 Namibia (Kampala, UG)
Jul 08, 2025 – Senegal 17-55 Namibia (Kampala, UG)
Jun 27, 2025 – Namibia 6-73 Italy (Windhoek, NA)
STARTING LINE-UP CHANGES  |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | João Lucas Marino | Caique Silva Segura |
| 2 | Wilton Rebolo | Henrique Ribeiro Ferreira |
| 3 | Leonel Moreno | Wilton Rebolo |
| 5 | Ben Donald | Gabriel De Souza |
| 7 | Devon Muller | Matheus De Souza Cláudio |
| 11 | Sérgio Luna | Robert Tenório |
| 12 | Robert Tenório | Raphael Hollister |
| 13 | Raphael Hollister | Lorenzo Massari Temer |
| 14 | Lorenzo Massari Temer | Theo Bastardie |
| 15 | Lucas Tranquez | Thiago Oviedo |
|
IN | OUT |
| 3 | Joshua Bester | Aranos Coetzee |
| 8 | Wian Conradie | Adriaan Booysen |
| 11 | Jurgen Meyer | JC Greyling |
| 13 | Andre van der Berg | Jay-Cee Nel |
| 15 | Jay-Cee Nel | Divan Roussouw |
- The match will officially begin international competition between Brazil and Namibia.
- The fixture is a final round match in the Rugby World Cup 2027 Final Qualification tournament.
- Brazil’s prior test matches against African countries have been against Kenya and Zimbabwe.
- Namibia’s prior test matches against Americas opposition have been against Argentina, Canada, Chile, and Uruguay.
- Moisés Duque returns as a replacement for Brazil. He is the most capped Brazilian of all-time with 67 caps.
- Brazil’s line-up features players based in England, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain.
- Namibia has players to play their rugby in France, Romania, Russia, South Africa and the USA.
- Both Brazil and Namibia have 1 competition point in the Final Qualification Tournament.
Conditions will be hot again in Dubai for the Rugby World Cup Qualifier. Coaches have all had to use their replacements wisely so far during the repechage tournament and this will be no exception on Tuesday. While the dream of a spot in the World Cup is over, the match is the start of the next Rugby World Cup cycle for both teams. Namibia’s failure to qualify has hit the players and fans hard. Os Tupis’ experience in repechage has shown that the gap is not as big as it perhaps was expected to be. Namibia are favorites to win in Dubai.
BRAZIL
15 Lucas Tranquez, 14 Lorenzo Massari Temer (capt.), 13 Raphael Hollister, 12 Robert Tenório, 11 Sérgio Luna, 10 João do Amaral, 9 Lucas Spago, 8 André Arruda, 7 Devon Muller, 6 Adrio de Melo, 5 Ben Donald, 4 Matteo Dell’Acqua, 3 Leonel Moreno, 2 Wilton Rebolo, 1 João Lucas Marino
Replacements: 16 Yan Rosetti, 17 Brendon Alves, 18 Vicente Galvão, 19 Hélder Lúcio, 20 Matheus Cláudio, 21 Renato Santos, 22 Gustavo Gobeti, 23 Moisés Duque
NAMIBIA
15 Jay-Cee Nel, 14 Danie van der Merwe, 13 Andre van der Berg, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Jurgen Meyer, 10 Cliven Loubser, 9 Helarius TC Kisting, 8 Wian Conradie, 7 Max Katjijeko, 6 Prince !Gaoseb, 5 Johan Retief, 4 Adriaan Ludick, 3 Joshua Bester, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Otja Auala
Replacements: 16 Armand Combrinck, 17 Haitembu Shikufa, 18 Johan Aranos Coetzee, 19 Johan Luttig, 20 Riaan Grové, 21 Jacques Theron, 22 Aston Mukwilongo, 23 Adriaan Booysen
Date: Tuesday, November 18
Venue: The Sevens (Dubai, UAE)
Kickoff: 5:00pm (UAE); 10:00am (Brasília)
Weather Forecast: Sunny; 27°C; wind N (11 km/h)
Broadcasts: Disney +, ESPN 3, Rugby Pass
Referee: Jordan Way (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland); Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
| VS HISTORY |
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