Rugby World Cup 2019 draw sets up mouthwatering All Blacks v Boks tie

02 November 2017 - 11:46 By Craig Ray
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South Africa's flanker Siya Kolisi (C) is tackled by New Zealand's fly-half Lima Sopoaga (R) during the Rugby test match between South Africa (Springboks) and New Zealand (All Blacks) at Newlands Rugby stadium on October 7, 2017 in Cape Town.
South Africa's flanker Siya Kolisi (C) is tackled by New Zealand's fly-half Lima Sopoaga (R) during the Rugby test match between South Africa (Springboks) and New Zealand (All Blacks) at Newlands Rugby stadium on October 7, 2017 in Cape Town.
Image: AFP

Rugby World Cup 2019 will only have to wait 24 hours for the biggest game of the Pool stage after Thursday’s draw revealed that defending champions New Zealand would meet old rivals South Africa on Saturday September 21.

The match between the Boks and All Blacks‚ to be played at the 72,329 capacity International Stadium in Yokohama‚ will almost certainly decide the winner of Pool B that also features Italy.

The contest between two teams that have won five of the eight editions of the World Cup played since its inception in 1987‚ promises to be a highlight of the pool phase and certainly the most enticing match-up of the opening weekend.

The tournament starts in Tokyo on Friday‚ September 20‚ when hosts Japan meet a European qualifier that still has to be confirmed.

But the heavyweights of the tournament begin their campaigns the following day.

Besides the thunderous clash between the All Blacks and Springboks‚ day two sees two-time champions Australia take on Fiji and three-time runners-up France against Argentina.

The All Blacks and Springboks have met on four occasions at the World Cup with each side winning twice.

The All Blacks beat the Boks 20-18 in the most recent clash during the 2015 semi-final at Twickenham.

In his reaction to the match schedule draw‚ Springbok coach Allister Coetzee said the opener against New Zealand would be a huge match in every sense.

“We play the number one side in the world at the moment and we are aware how good they are‚” said Coetzee.

“The Test match in Cape Town (which the Boks lost 25-24) has given our players a lot of belief and if we keep on improving then it will make for an even more interesting match.

“We are really excited to meet them first up‚ there is a great and proud rivalry between the Springboks and All Blacks and judging by past encounters between the two sides‚ this opening group match is bound to be another massive contest.”

The up side of having the All Blacks in the same Pool is that the Boks will avoid New Zealand until the final should both teams advance that far with the top two from each Pool advancing to the quarterfinals.

Pool C‚ featuring 2003 champions England‚ France‚ Argentina‚ Tonga and the USA‚ is considered the ‘group of death’ for obvious reasons.

The Pool phase‚ which was criticized in 2015 for favouring tier one teams with longer periods between matches‚ has been altered for a more equitable split of games.

“We have worked hard to deliver a match schedule that improves on the Rugby World Cup 2015 model‚” World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said.

“It will deliver a more balanced spread of matches across the four weeks of pool matches and greater rest periods for the emerging rugby nations ahead of matches against the top-ranked teams.

“These are the foundations that will assist the world’s top players to perform to their best in Japan.” The Springboks’ 2019 Rugby World Cup match schedule is (with local and SA times):

Saturday‚ 21 September:

South Africa vs New Zealand‚ International Stadium Yokohama (18h45 / 11h45)

Saturday‚ 28 September:

South Africa vs Africa 1‚ City of Toyota Stadium (18h45 / 11h45)

Friday‚ 4 October:

South Africa vs Italy‚ Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa (18h45 / 11h45)

Tuesday‚ 8 October:

South Africa vs Repechage winner‚ Kobe Misaki Stadium (19h15 / 12h15)


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