Springboks in for fierce battle
IN FIVE months today, the Springboks host the Wallabies in their first match of the year and two months later they begin their World Cup defence in a Pool B game against Scotland in Marseilles.
In between those matches, Siya Kolisi’s men play five other matches where they can tick every possible box in their preparations but right now in the Six Nations, the Boks’ Pool B opponents are firing some serious warning shots to the rugby world.
The Six Nations is the part of a World Cup year where the northern hemisphere teams sharpen their challenge and then it is the turn of the south to use the Rugby Championship to prove their readiness.
And then the whole bunch gather for the global jamboree, and this 10th edition of the event is shaping up to be the most fiercely fought of them all.
If you look at the Springboks’ half of the World Cup draw, there is going to be serious blood in the water from as early as the pool stages because the vagaries of the draw have heaped many of the leading contenders in one pile, while the other side of the draw is relatively plain sailing until the semi-finals, and this is where England, Australia and Argentina are laughing.
On the Springbok side of the draw, one quarter-final will pit the winner of Pool B (South Africa/Ireland/Scotland) against the runner-up of Pool A (New Zealand/France) and the other quarter is the runner-up of Pool B playing the winner of Pool A (New Zealand/France).
By the semi-finals, only two out of South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, France and Scotland will remain…
The Boks have Ireland and Scotland in their Pool B, and if you look at how well those two countries played last week in defeating Wales (in Cardiff) and England (at Twickenham),
respectively, then you will understand the enormity of the challenge facing Kolisi’s men.
Bok fans might scoff at Scotland but they would do so at their peril because the tartan army has been building nicely under coach Gregor Townsend for a while and they have game-breakers in their side, notably Duhan van der Merwe, who scored one of the finest tries in Six Nations history last week, and mercurial flyhalf Finn Russell.
Sure, the Boks will be favoured to beat the Scots but – on a day when Russell’s nifty passes stick and Duhan fires his afterburners – Scotland can beat anybody.
Ireland? They were ruthlessly efficient in dismantling Wales in front of their home crowd and underlined why they are the No 1-ranked team on the planet.
Today, Ireland host France and
Scotland are at home to Wales. That match in Dublin between the world’s No 1 team and the favourites for the World Cup is attracting keen interest and will be studied long and hard by the other contenders for the World Cup; and if the Scots back up their Calcutta Cup win with a strong showing against a Welsh team fighting for their pride, then it will emphasise that beating England was not a flash in the pan.
Pool B:
South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Romania.
Pool C:
Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal
Pool D:
England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Chile
Quarter-finals
QF 1: Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D QF 2: Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A QF 3: Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C QF 4: Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B
Semi-finals
SF 1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2 SF 2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4
SPRINGBOK 2023 FIXTURES:
Rugby Championship Saturday, July 8 - Springboks v Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, July 15 - New Zealand v Springboks (venue TBA)
Saturday, July 29 - Springboks v Argentina (Ellis Park, Johannesburg) RWC warm-up fixtures: Saturday, August 5 - Argentina v Springboks (venue TBA)
Saturday, August 19 - Wales v Springboks (Principality Stadium, Cardiff) Friday, August 25 - Springboks v New Zealand (Twickenham, London)
RWC pool fixtures:
Sunday, September 10 - Springboks v Scotland (Stade Velodrome, Marseille) Sunday, September 17 - Springboks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux) Saturday, September 23 - Springboks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris) Sunday, October 1 - Springboks v Tonga (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)