Dare we dream about fourth title?

The Springboks will look to go where no other team has gone before: winning the World Cup for the fourth time as the 2023 edition of the tournament kicked off in France.

South Africa open the defence of the Webb Ellis Cup they won four years ago in Japan when they face Scotland in Marseille early tomorrow evening.

They are in a tough pool, which also includes Ireland, Tonga and Romania, and an even trickier half of the draw with a potential quarter-final against France or the All Blacks – the opponents in last night’s spicy opener in Saint-Denis.

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The Springboks are one of only two teams that have won the World Cup on three occasions in 1995, 2007 and 2019.

New Zealand, having won it in 1987, 2011 and 2015, are the other to have done so, while Australia (1991 and 1999) and England (2003) are the only two other countries to have lifted rugby’s premier trophy.

No northern hemisphere team has won the World Cup in the past 20 years, but that could easily change over the next seven weeks as hosts France, Ireland and England all have realistic chances of going all the way.

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But back to the Boks. Siya Kolisi leads South Africa for a second successive World Cup, hoping to turn their warm-up success – they thumped Wales and New Zealand last month on the back of two wins against Argentina – into a fourth title.

Their form since their last triumph in 2019 has been anything but consistent, but have they hit their stride at the right time? They have match-winners aplenty – powerful forwards and skilful backs – but the lack of an experienced goal kicker at this level could come back to bite them.

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They also need to stay on the right side of the match officials throughout the tournament.

Most of us remember where we were when Francois Pienaar lifted the Cup on home soil with former president Nelson Mandela cheering him on in 1995, or when John Smit repeated the feat 12 years later in Paris in 2007, or when Kolisi led the men in green and gold to glory in Yokohama to bring joy to a nation.

The Springboks certainly have the squad to go all the way. Can we dare to dream? Definitely, but first, Scotland await Kolisi and company.

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