Eddie O’Sullivan’s men took just 14 minutes to post their first three tries and after a brief lull, added another two before the interval to put the outcome beyond doubt.

With their largely part-time pool of players, Namibia battled bravely and got their reward when centre Corne Powell crossed for the final score of the half.

Namibia appeared to need more men on the field, not fewer, so the loss of lock Heino Senekal for 10 minutes when he was sin-binned for persistent infringing at the ruck area was not particularly welcome news for the Africans.

The torrential rain which had fallen continuously from an hour before kick-off was causing Ireland more problems than their opponents and as handling became increasingly difficult, the momentum which had been built up gradually eroded.

Senekal returned with no further addition to the score, although that situation didn’t last long as Corne Powell lost possession inside his own in-goal area and prop Marcus Horan was ruled to have grounded the loose ball by the video referee to register his first points in 14 internationals.

Within two minutes, number eight Eric Miller had crossed as well, crashing through a succession of weak Namibian tackles after runs from O’Driscoll and Wood had cut them open.

Bravely, the Africans refused to give in and got their reward when Powell charged over from close range just before the interval.