Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk says his team-mates are “well prepared and eager” for this weekend’s encounter with Ireland in Paris. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
‘Springboks are underdogs’ – Faf de Klerk
The Springboks are underdogs heading into their title defence of the World Cup later this year, says Faf de Klerk.
Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk says his team-mates are “well prepared and eager” for this weekend’s encounter with Ireland in Paris. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
The Springboks are underdogs heading into their title defence of the World Cup later this year, says Faf de Klerk.
South Africa powered to their third World Cup crown in Japan in 2019 thanks to a brilliant 32-12 win over England. But a lot has changed in the rugby landscape since then.
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Springboks not favourites at the moment
The Springboks have largely stuck to what’s worked for them but the likes of France and Ireland have improved dramatically. Even England aren’t being overlooked now that Steve Borthwick has taken over from Eddie Jones.
New Zealand will be contenders whenever the showpiece occurs given their win rate in the international game.
That makes at least five sides with strong credentials and the defending champions are okay with not being favourites.
“I think we’re always going to see ourselves as underdogs going into games, just because of the opportunities that some of us haven’t got,” De Klerk said.
“We always want to prove the world wrong — I don’t think we’ve ever really been favourites if we’ve come up against big sides.”
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Boks in the mix according to De Klerk
De Klerk believes the Springboks are a better, “more oiled” machine than four years ago.
“It’s very competitive at the moment, which is great – it shows that rugby is in a good spot and people want to come and watch,” said the scrumhalf.
“I would say the top four or five sides in the world could easily do it.”
2023 FIXTURES:
Rugby Championship:
Saturday, 8 July – Boks vs Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 15 July – Boks vs New Zealand (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland)
Saturday, 29 July – Boks vs Argentina (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
RWC warm-up fixtures:
Saturday, 5 August – Boks v Argentina (Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires)
Saturday, 19 August – Boks vs Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Friday, 25 August – Boks vs New Zealand (Twickenham, London)
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RWC fixtures:
Sunday, 10 September – Boks v Scotland (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
Sunday, 17 September – Boks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Saturday, 23 September – Boks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
Sunday, 1 October – Boks v Tonga (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
Weekend of 14/15 October – Quarter-finals
Weekend of 21/22 October – Semi-finals
Saturday, 28 October – Final
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