The Six Nations is over and‚ as expected after their calamitous 2016‚ the Springboks have dropped to seventh on the world rankings‚ which means they face a potential "group of death" at Rugby World Cup 2019. The draw for that tournament takes place in Japan in May and for the first time since 2003, the Boks will be out of the elite top four‚ which places them in the second band of the draw. The top four teams – New Zealand‚ England‚ Australia and Ireland – are in band one and will be the top seeds in pools A‚ B‚ C and D at the World Cup. Teams in band two — Scotland‚ France‚ SA and Wales — will then randomly be drawn into the pools. That means the Boks could face the All Blacks in pool play. Progressing to the knockouts from a pool with New Zealand would be tricky, but is certainly doable for the Boks depending on the third-seeded team from band three. Teams from nine to 12 on the world rankings are Argentina‚ Japan‚ Georgia and Italy. Those teams will be randomly assigned to pools ...
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