Neo Paledi
The Springboks have had a healthy run during this year’s pool stage matches, and it is worth discussing the team’s overall performance in the pool stages since the 2019 Rugby World Cup title win.
The Boks started off on the right foot in their World Cup campaign with a victory of 18-3 against Scotland. Their positive march continued as they convincingly won against Romania in their second match, accumulating 76 points, while the opposition did not manage to put any points on the board. However, their third match would be their downside in their campaign, as they lost 8-13 against the number one ranked rugby team, Ireland. A week later, they managed to end their pool stage campaign positively by winning 49-18 against Tonga.
Overall, their pool stage performance in this year’s Rugby World Cup was convincing enough for them to be confidently deemed the defending champions of the title. Of course, the loss against Ireland was a blow to the team and fans; however, it must not be forgotten that they lost 23-13 against New Zealand during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in a pool match, but they came out victorious and took the Webb Ellis Cup home.