RWC 2015 Preview Magazine Special Edition | Page 44

Expert analysis
Rugby experts share their Rugby World Cup 2015
predictions with us. Read below:

Ettienne van Rensburg
Sports Editor at the Vaalweekblad

John Smit
Springbok 2007 RWC winning Captain

I am not a betting man, but the odds are
really stacked in favour of the All Blacks.
They are in form and the current holder
of the William Web Ellis trophy. But… The
Northern hemisphere is a strange place… It
is graveyard of dreams for many players and
southern hemisphere teams.
My dark horse for the tournament is Ireland
they are peaking at the right moment and
might just sneak through. They are the Six
nations champions and will be a formidable
force. Their support base will surely help
them to raise their game.
The Wallabies have also shown that they
can beat the All Blacks and will surely be a
contender.
But my blood is green. If South Africa
chooses the right combinations, they
are definitely in with a great chance. In
2007 John Smit and his charges won the
tournament against all odds. Nobidy gave
them a chance. The burning question is
should captain Jean de Viliers be included at
the expense of in form and younger players?
His captaincy will definitely play a large roll,
but will be be able to cope as a player.
The All Blacks are under pressure and
nobody really expects anything from the
Springboks. This makes the men in Green
and Gold really dangerous.

There are a good bunch of youngsters to go
along with the likes of Victor Matfield, Jean
de Villiers and Schalk Burger, who have
seen some campaigns and been around
the block. I think Heyneke Meyer picked
his squad 18 months ago, and now it’s just
about the one-off guys like Vincent Koch
and Damian de Allende trying to get into the
st arting team. The culture that Meyer has
chosen to attack a World Cup campaign
would have been decided quite a while ago,
and you can’t change too much of that at a
late stage.
Obviously the All Blacks will be the
favourites yet again. The French you never
really know, but you saw what they did at
the last World Cup - they’ve got the ability
and the players.England as the host nation
are in with a strong chance. Ireland are
unbelievably well coached. If they don’t get
too many injuries they’ve got one or two
veterans that will help them through the
stages.Wales are always a difficult team to
beat.
They aren’t a difficult team to analyse but
if they’re effective in what they want to do
they are hard to stop. Australia have undone
South Africa a number of times over the last
few years and will be tough to beat.It’s going
to be an exciting World Cup to watch - there
are going to be a few surprises.

44 RWC 2015 Preview Magazine