Boks’ tough draw not altogether bad
Losing to All Blacks in pool play would not dent SA’s hopes of a place in the quarterfinal
The Springboks will face the All Blacks in Rugby World Cup pool play for the first time after the two southern hemisphere giants were drawn together in pool B for the 2019 World Cup. The draw‚ made in Kyoto on Wednesday‚ also pitted Italy in pool B along with a qualifier from Africa‚ likely to be Namibia‚ and a global qualifier. At first glance it seems a tough draw for the Boks‚ but in reality losing to the All Blacks in pool play‚ would not dent their quarterfinal hopes. Beating Italy would almost guarantee a place in the last eight regardless of the result against the reigning world champions and give SA a quarterfinal against either Ireland‚ Scotland or Japan from pool A. The Boks’ world ranking dropped from third at the beginning of 2016 to seventh this March‚ which meant that they fell into band two for the draw. Bok coach Allister Coetzee attended the draw at the Kyoto State Guest House along with officials from the other 11 qualified teams and said he was satisfied with the ...
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