Squad depth, flair give Springboks real hope of Rugby World Cup title defence

CAPE TOWN – South Africa go into the defence of their Rugby World Cup title in France with a renewed swagger and greater squad depth than recent years, but are on a side of the draw that means they are playing "knockout rugby" from the very first game against Scotland on Sunday.

The Springboks produced thumping victories in their final two warm-up games, beating Wales 52-16 and inflicting a biggest-ever defeat on New Zealand with a 35-7 win as they seek a record fourth World Cup win.

Coach Jacques Nienaber will hope his men are peaking at the right time and has admitted they are better equipped for success in 2023 than when

they lifted the trophy in 2019 in Japan.

But they must navigate Ireland and Scotland in Pool B, after which hosts France or New Zealand will likely be waiting in the quarter-finals.

"We are in knockout rugby from game one when we play Scotland (in Marseille). That is the reality of it," Nienaber said.

"Our goal is the World Cup. Everyone knows this is our aim. We can’t hide away from that. We want to be the second team to go back-to-back after New Zealand (2011 and 2015) and the first team to win the trophy four times.”

The coach also believes this World Cup is set to be the most open in history and that it will be all about fine margins.

“We have spoken about how close the contenders are,” he said. “A lot of teams are in a position to win it and I believe it is going to be the most tightly contested World Cup in history.

“The key thing is to make sure you are 100 per cent ready for a match. If you are 1 or 2 per cent off, the top teams will take advantage of that. We come in as defending champions, you can’t shake that tag off. We must accept it.”

South Africa's pack of forwards is the envy of many, with any one of the 19 in the squad able to make a strong case to start. There are no spare parts here.

It allows them to implement their "Bomb Squad" off the bench, replacements who come on, usually early in the second half, with fresh legs and lungs to continue to grind opponents into submission and maintain set-piece dominance.

It gives Nienaber an 80-minute game and is hugely effective, even if their 7-1 split on the bench between forwards and backs does leave them vulnerable to injuries in the backline.

"It is something that we train for, with certain forwards to fulfil some roles in backline play. We have to plan for those scenarios with all the yellow cards that go around these days," he insisted.

The Springboks have been hurt by injuries to two of their stalwarts from 2019, fly-half Handre Pollard and outside centre Lukhanyo Am, who are not part of the squad in France, while Lood de Jager is out with a heart ailment.

Manie Libbok has taken over the No. 10 jersey and gives the team more attacking impetus with ball in hand. But he does not have the accuracy of Pollard off the kicking tee and is prone to simple misses, which could come back to bite the side in tight knockout games.

Am’s place will be taken by Jesse Kriel or mercurial winger Canan Moodie, 20, who is a rising star of the global game.

Nienaber does have a concern around the team’s ability to turn entries into the opponent’s 22 into points, something he has bemoaned for a while.

"In the World Cup, you get only four or five opportunities and you have to capitalise on them. That is something we will try and fix (ahead of the tournament)," he said. REUTERS, AFP