Boks strong as World Cup looms

The Springboks could not have asked for better preparations as they look to successfully defend their World Cup crown in France next month.

In their final World Cup warm-up match against the All Blacks at Twickenham last Friday night, South Africa thumped their rivals 35-7 – New Zealand’s heaviest defeat margin in history, beating their 28-7 loss to Australia in 1999.

The win comes on the back of a 52-16 triumph over Wales in another World Cup warm-up match the prior weekend and back-to-back victories over Argentina, home and away.

Other than the odd niggle, the Springboks have also not picked up any major injuries and there are no disciplinary issues hanging above their heads entering rugby’s showpiece.

Many will argue that warm-up matches count for nothing, and that teams don’t want to show their hands before the tournament proper, but would you rather be sitting pretty in the South African camp or in New Zealand’s changeroom two weeks out from the World Cup?

Or England’s, for that matter, after they lost to Fiji on Saturday?

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The Springboks, who won the William Webb Ellis trophy in 1995, 2007 and 2019, now travel to Corsica for training and then their base camp in Toulon before their opening game against Scotland on 10 September.

They are in a tough group with Ireland, Scotland, Romania and Tonga, while France or the All Blacks lie in wait for them should they progress to the quarterfinals.

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber has strategically rotated his squad in the last few weeks, trying new combinations as he looks to settle on his strongest starting line-up. But it’s a pleasant conundrum for Nienaber and company.

The Boks have thrown down the gauntlet. The question is: can they maintain that intensity for the next two months?

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