You only need to look back over Rugby World Cup history to see how prolific South Africa have been; not only do they hold the joint record with New Zealand for tournament victories, they are also of course the most recent holders of the Webb Ellis Cup, following their famous win over England in 2019.

However, with the tenth competition in France now under a year away, many are starting to speculate whether or not this will be the chance for the Springboks to become record holders in their own right with a fourth Rugby World Cup win. Here we’ve taken a closer look.

Pool B and a tough draw

One of the first obstacles for South Africa is their potential route to the final. Not only do they have the difficult Pool B draw to overcome, it’s also likely they’ll have to face France or New Zealand in the quarters. If that wasn’t enough, they then may have England in the semi-finals, subject to the success the side has in their Pool and respective tournament progression. 

What the odds say

You’ll always get variations from the bookies and we are also still a fair while off September 2023, so a lot can change. But, if you look at the latest odds right now, you’ll more than likely see that South Africa are typically not the favourites. 

The international dominance of New Zealand seems to have made them the preferred choice as favourites for the majority of betting companies, with England and hosts France also up there as strong second and third options. 

The squad

We can expect the big stars of South African rugby, like Handre Pollard and Eben Etzebeth to be included in the tournament squad, but with their recent disappointments in the Rugby Championship all eyes will be on Jacques Nienaber to see how he freshens things up next year. 

Interestingly he has recently named uncapped flyhalves Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in their squad for the Autumn International series, so it may well be that the World Cup squad ends up consisting of a mix of new and experienced talent. This would be a gamble, but excellent coaching if it pays off. 

Final thoughtsIf you’re South Africa rugby union fan, or you’re wanting to get your predictions ahead of the next Rugby World Cup, then a final piece of advice is to say on top of the latest Springboks news, what the bookies are saying and watch any international tests as and when you can. This’ll all help you stay up to speed with how South Africa are doing and could be the determining factor in whether or not you back them for Rugby World Cup glory once again.

Tags: France, New Zealand, Rugby World Cup, RWC 2023, South Africa