There is very little separating the Springboks and the All Blacks as the top two sides in the current World Rugby rankings, and yet despite this, the arch-rivals appear likely to meet as early as the quarter-final stage of the next World Cup.
The Springboks would be expected to finish top of Pool B comfortably, and the All Blacks – although they have been drawn in Pool A with Australia – would still be backed to finish top of their group too.
Both sides would then face a third-place finisher in the Round of 16, where they’d be overwhelming favourites.
Where it gets interesting is that this pairing of winners from the Round of 16 are then set to meet in the quarter-finals. This puts the Springboks and All Blacks on a collision course for a quarter-final meeting in what would be a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final.
If the Springboks were to overcome the All Blacks, then there could be another huge match up in the semi-finals against France, the team they edged at the quarter-final stage of the last World Cup.
Looking at this draw, All Blacks coach Dave Rennie has again been outspoken in his criticism.
“It just highlights a crazy draw. You look at the football World Cup and the top four ranked sides in the world play each other in the semis, it seems hard to believe that you have got us pitted against South Africa, potentially in a quarter-final, and the winner of that plays France.
“But you know, I mean, it is what it is now. It’s probably been similar before. So look, to win a title you’ve got to beat them all anyway. but that’s the path in front of us.”
Depending on who progresses through this to the final, then it’s most likely that England or Ireland would lie in wait.
The Springboks and All Blacks are set for an early World Cup rematch
- Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong China
- Pool B: South Africa, Italy, Georgia, Romania
- Pool C: Argentina, Fiji, Spain, Canada
- Pool D: Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay, Portugal
- Pool E: France, Japan, USA, Samoa
- Pool F: England, Wales, Tonga, Zimbabwe
EYES ON THE PRIZE
