It’s to be another meeting of rugby world giants, a new page to add to the epic of the bitter old rugby rivalry between the Springboks and New Zealand.
In a ceremony this morning in the capital of to-be hosts Japan, which brought together the coaches of the selected international teams, the Rugby World Cup 2019 pools were drawn. South Africa to play New Zealand on the world stage.
The rugby world is keen to expand the game to the far-flung areas of the world, and in 2019 the cherry blossom cities of Japan will play host to 20 rugby nations all competing for the cup trophy.
Teams are seeded before the start of the tournament, with the seedings being taken from the current World Rankings – the teams are then split into ranking-dependent “bands”, with the top four ranked teams making up Band 1. This is to ensure that top-seeded teams are not drawn into the same pool.
The four teams in Band 1 are then drawn into the pools A to D, followed by the next four highest-ranked teams who make up Band 2. Band 3 is then drawn, with the remaining positions in each pool being filled by the qualifiers, one of those qualifier spots will be for the winner of the African Cup.
As a “Band 2” team, South Africa have been drawn into Pool B and will face the higher-ranking All Blacks, Italy, Africa 1, and the repechage winner, the latter two teams to be decided through a qualification process by the end of next year.
For the Springboks, the confirmation that New Zealand – currently the highest ranked team in the world – will be competing against them for that crucial top spot in Pool B, will be strapped in the backseat of their mind during World Cup preparation.
Even with the flimsy title of being the nation with the best Test record against the All Blacks, recent performances have not been up to par for the two-time World Cup winning team.
Losing all of their Autumn International games, but for one draw against the Barbarians, in the Northern Hemisphere last year and coming second bottom in the annual Four Nations competition – clearly there is something not going to plan for South African rugby.
Sights will automatically be set on finishing second for a qualifying place in 2019. But Italy, a team who have dramatically improved under the watchful eye of Conor O’Shea and Mike Catt, will be keen to charge down any Springbok hopes of progression. The team narrowly triumphed over South Africa last year, and will be keen to show the same grace of form in Japan.
Two years is enough to re-build a struggling team – to wash away any painful memories of defeat. Allister Coetzee will have a keen-eye on preparation for the final-stretch before Japan, eager to pick up on any up-and-coming South African talent that could change the fate of a nation with a sidestep.
It’s to be the most interesting competition in recent rugby history, and South Africa will be keen on making a statement.
Pools for the 2019 Rugby World Cup
Pool A: Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Europe 1, Play-off winner
Pool B: Italy, South Africa, New Zealand, Africa 1, Repechage winner
Pool C: Argentina, France, England, Americas 1, Oceania 2
Pool D: Georgia, Wales, Australia, Oceania 1, Americas 2
