Scott Williams led the rout with a hat-trick in a 12-try mauling of Namibia who slumped to their 15th consecutive defeat in the World Cup.
Wales rattled up 22 points inside the first 18 minutes however despite clearly being in the ascendancy Sam Warburton and his men were unable to trouble the score board attendant for the remainder of the first half.
The result was never in doubt though and when Scott Williams dived over early in the second half for his second try it was job done for Wales.
Namibia struggled throughout but it was no major surprise when a team is expected to play all their games in such a short turnaround. Having already suffered heavy defeats to Fiji, Samoa and South Africa, their hearts and minds seemed to be elsewhere.
From the outset Namibia struggled to contain Wales’s superior strength. They buckled in the first scrum to give Stephen Jones – earning his 101st Test cap – his first shot at goal in the second minute. The experienced campaigner had no trouble knocking the ball between the sticks.
Leigh Halfpenny injected pace into the backline and set centre Scott Williams free down the touchline. The Scarlets centre sprinted clear from 40m to score a try in his first start for Wales.
Wales seized on Namibia backline mistake s in the opening quarter with Dragons team mates Aled Brew and Toby Faletau crossing the white wash. With Jones adding the extras, Wales were coasting at 22-0 up after just 18mins.
Just when it looked like Wales were cruising, the wheels fell off somewhat at Namibia tried manfully to get a toehold in the game. They kept Wales scoreless for the rest of the half with some desperate defence.
But in the second half there was only one side in it – and it wasn’t Namibia.
Williams showed his strength in the tackle seven minutes after the restart after Namibia botched a scrum near their own line. Tavis Knoyle pick pocketed the ball from the base of the scrum and passed to Williams who ploughed his way through a porous defence to score his second of the night.
The one way traffic continued with prop Gethin Jenkins dummying and side stepping his way over the line from 30m to score an unlikely individual try. With Jones adding the extras the scoreboard had stretched out to 36-0.
Namibia stemmed the red tide briefly when Nico Esterhuyse intercepted a pass from Jones before off loading to second row partner Heinz Koll who galloped unopposed to the tryline from 40m. Theuns Kotze added the conversion.
However George North tormented the Namibians when coming on as a replacement, powering his way over for two tries and being a constant threat with ball in hand. Jonathan Davies added a try as Wales became the second side to rack up a half century of points against the hapless Africans.
With Warren Gatland emptying the bench, there was a first cap for hooker Ken Owens. The Scarlets hooker was involved in the lead-up to Williams’ third try when charging into the heart of the Namibian defence.
By the time Lloyd Williams and Lee Byrne motored over in opposite corners, Namibia’s thoughts were already on the next plane out of New Plymouth.
Alun Wyn Jones surged over to hammer home the final nail into Nambia’s coffin to send Warren Gatland’s men into next week’s final Pool D clash against Fiji brimming with confidence.
