‘France are World Cup favourites,’ says coach as Boks wrap up training on Corsica

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber says World Cup hosts France are the favourites to win their home tournament, which kicks off next Friday 8 September in Paris.

France take on New Zealand in the tournament opener, while the Boks are in action for the first time on Sunday, 10 September, against Scotland in Marseille.

The defending champions from Japan four years ago are in a competitive Pool B, alongside Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania.

‘We are world champions’

“In our pool, Scotland is No 5 in the world, South Africa No 2 and Ireland No 1, and one of us is not going to make it out of the pool. But it is what it is, so we have to be on form from the outset,” said Nienaber.

“And if we do get out of the pool, we’ll either face France or New Zealand in the quarter-final, so it’s going to be really tough.”

The Bok coach added: “I think France are the favourites, but obviously we are the world champions, and we can’t deny that. That said, I believe this is going to be one of the most closely contested World Cups in history with a couple of teams that can win it on the day.”

‘Training camp’

Nienaber has further stressed his team are not on holiday in Corsica as they prepare to wrap up their week-long camp on Friday before heading to the French mainland on Saturday.

The Boks will base themselves in Toulon for their World Cup challenge in France, with their first game now just over a week away.

Nienaber and his squad have been on the Mediterranean island of Corsica since last Saturday, after beating the All Blacks in their final warm-up game at Twickenham last Friday.

“It’s not a holiday, it’s a proper training camp,” said Nienaber about the Boks’ stay in Corsica.

“There are a lot of things we need to work on because we are in a knock-out pool from game one, so there’s a lot we need to get right if we want to be competitive and defend the World Cup title.

“From a rugby perspective we can work hard here and can prepare, and from a team perspective it’s nice for us to meet and mix with the people of Corsica.”

The Boks will make their way to Toulon via a ten-and-a-half hour ferry journey on Saturday.