Eben Etzebeth, Lukhanyo Am, Bongi Mbonambi. (Supplied/OPPO)
- Eben Etzebeth believes they are heading to an “open” Rugby World Cup in France later this year.
- He rated hosts France, Ireland and New Zealand among his strongest contenders, also adding that Australia and Wales could show up.
- The Boks face Ireland and Scotland in Pool B, while the All Blacks have to negotiate the French in Pool A.
Springbok behemoth Eben Etzebeth believes they are heading to an “open” Rugby World Cup in France later this year, with the hosts, Ireland and New Zealand, among his strongest contenders.
The defending world champion Springboks face two Six Nations sides in Ireland and Scotland, in Pool B, alongside Tonga and Romania. It’s a fight to the death to make the top two and thus the quarter-finals.
Ireland top the Six Nations table and could complete the Grand Slam with victory over England – who were flummoxed 53-10 by France at Twickenham last weekend – at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
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The European sides’ performances have not gone unnoticed down south but Etzebeth believes it could be anyone’s tournament.
“I think the World Cup is open. I think there are about seven or eight teams that are really going to be competitive at the World Cup,” Etzebeth told News24.
“Wales are probably not doing that well but they’re always good at the World Cup. England will come back, Australia will be good, Argentina is always a tough team, so it’s going to be difficult.
“We’ve got a tough pool with Scotland and Ireland in it and you must finish at least second to make the quarter-finals. Getting through the pool is going to be a tough ask but we’re looking forward to seeing how we go.”
The All Blacks haven’t been everyone’s pick because of iffy 2022 form, including a historic home series loss to Ireland that almost cost head coach Ian Foster his job.
But Etzebeth was not having any of that and believed they can’t be counted out.
“Those people that don’t put them in the conversation don’t know much about rugby,” he said.
“The All Blacks will always be there. They are one of the toughest teams at a World Cup and they’ve won it three times for a reason.
“They are going to be massive favourites to win the World Cup, along with teams like France, Ireland and other teams that are doing well also. And obviously, we’ll be backing ourselves, so it’s going to be an interesting World Cup.”
Lukhanyo Am, speaking at the launch of SA Rugby’s Springbok partnership with Chinese mobile cellphone manufacturer OPPO in Johannesburg on Wednesday, also took notice of the European sides’ performances.
“It’s good for rugby. The European sides, France, Scotland and Ireland, are performing really well,” he said.
“For us, going there and facing these quality sides is going to be a challenge but a good one for us. It’s going to be really interesting because in our pool we have two of the top five teams in the World Rugby rankings.
“We need to face them to be get out of that pool and they are playing really good rugby at the moment.
“They are the teams to beat but we’ll see how things will turn out at the Rugby World Cup.”
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