Rugby World Cup Preview – Pool A

France will stage the most closely-contested Rugby World Cup in history, leaving fans salivating and strapping in for a rollercoaster ride unlike any other when the competition gets underway on September 8, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.  

The tenth edition of the quadrennial global showpiece is set to be the most open yet, with defending champions South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland and hosts France all being strong contenders while the likes of Australia and England could come good as dark horses.  

With anticipation mounting, we kick off our tournament preview with a breakdown of Pool A.  

Pool A: France, Italy, Namibia, New Zealand, Uruguay.

Pool A is headlined by two of the title favourites in France and New Zealand and also features Italy, Namibia and Uruguay. With the top two teams on a collision course with the Springboks and Ireland in the quarterfinals, South African supporters will keep a keen eye on the Pool A action.

France (4.00)

Perennial dark horses France are among the favourites to reign supreme (second outright) and rightly so. Les Bleus have everything going for them – they have an astute coach in Fabien Galthie, a settled squad with superstars in key positions, a balanced brand of rugby unlike any French team before them and home-ground advantage. 

Galthie, a legendary scrumhalf who played in four World Cups and captained France in the 2003 tournament, has not only assembled a dream team with depth since stepping into the head coach role in 2020 but has reshaped the way Les Bleus play the game, adding structure, size and a physical edge on top of rather than at the expense of the flair they’re renowned for.  

This complete brand of rugby, along with the unshakable belief Galthie’s instilled and his ability to get the best out of each player, have made France one of the best teams in the world over the last two years. They topped the world rankings for the most part and won their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2010 during an unbeaten 2022 season and enjoyed a record 14-Test winning streak before succumbing 32-19 to Ireland in Dublin in this year’s Six Nations decider.   

Currently ranked fourth, they have the best player in the world in captain Antoine Dupont, a genius in the No 9 jersey. In the pack, Julien Marchand, Gregory Alldritt and South African-born Paul Willemse are among the big hitters while out wide, Damian Penaud is a predatory finisher and Thomas Ramos is arguably the most reliable goal-kicker in the game today. 

Tipped by many to win their maiden World Cup title, they carry with them more expectations than any French side in history and we’ll get an early glimpse of how they deal with that pressure in the blockbuster opener against the All Blacks at the Stade de France, which will determine the eventual winners of the pool and will shape the very course of the competition.  

Squad:

Forwards: Pierre Bourgarit, Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka, Dorian Aldegheri, Uini Atonio, Cyril Baille, Sipili Falatea, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Reda Wardi, Thibaud Flament, Romain Taofifenua, Paul Willemse, Cameron Woki, Gregory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent, Francois Cros, Sekou Macalou, Charles Ollivon, Anthony Jelonch.

Backs: Baptiste Couilloud, Antoine Dupont (captain), Maxime Lucu, Antoine Hastoy, Matthieu Jalibert, Jonathan Danty, Gael Fickou, Yoram Moefana, Arthur Vincent, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Damian Penaud, Gabin Villiere, Melvyn Jaminet, Thomas Ramos.

Head coach: Fabien Galthie.

Italy (501)

Italy are perennial strugglers in the Six Nations and this year was no different as they finished the championship with the wooden spoon yet again after failing to register a win. 

Their World Cup record isn’t much better. The Azzurri have competed in every edition and while they’ve claimed some notable wins, they’ve never progressed to the playoffs and this trend looks set to continue in France. 

There are some promising signs for Kieran Crowley, though, with his team staying in contests longer than many of their predecessors, but they were hit with injuries during the recent Summer Nations Series, with utility back Tommaso Menoncello ruled out due to a serious arm injury. 

Captained by Michele Lamaro, the Italians will have to take the good with the bad and will have to settle for wins over Namibia and Uruguay.

Squad:

Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Ivan Nemer, Marco Riccioni, Federico Zani, Luca Bigi, Epalahame Faiva, Giacomo Nicotera, Niccolo Cannone, Dino Lamb, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi, Lorenzo Cannone, Toa Halafihi, Michele Lamaro (captain), Sebastian Negri, Giovanni Pettinelli, Manuel Zuliani,

Backs: Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Martin Page-Relo, Stephen Varney, Tommaso Allan, Giacomo Da Re, Paolo Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Luca Morisi, Pierre Bruno, Ange Capuozzo, Monty Ioane, Paolo Odogwu, Lorenzo Pani.

Head coach: Kieran Crowley.

Namibia (1001)

Coached by former Springbok mentor Allister Coetzee, Namibia qualified for the World Cup for a seventh straight time as commanding winners of the Africa Cup held in France last year. 

The Welwitschias were in a class of their own, battering Burkina Faso 71-5 in the quarterfinals, beating Zimbabwe 34-19 in the semis and crushing Kenya 36-0 in the final. 

They have several names in their ranks that South African rugby fans will be familiar with including experienced centre and captain Johan Deysel, who’s heading to his third World Cup, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Louis van der Westhuizen, Aranos Coetzee, Tiaan Swanepoel and Divan Rossouw. 

Squad:

Forwards: Jason Benade, Adriaan Booysen, Aranos Coetzee, Wian Conradie, Tiaan de Klerk, Prince Gaoseb, Richard Hardwick, Max Katjijeko, Adriaan Ludick, Johan Retief, Desiderius Sethie, Mahepisa Tjeriko, Tjiuee Uanivi, Louis van der Westhuizen, Torsten van Jaarsveld, PJ van Lill, Casper Viviers.

Backs: Oela Blaauw, Danco Burger, Johan Deysel (captain), JC Greyling, Cliven Loubser, Le Roux Malan, Gerswin Mouton, Chad Plato, Alcino Isaacs, Divan Rossouw, Damian Stevens, Tiaan Swanepoel, Jacques Theron, Andre van der Berg.

Head coach: Allister Coetzee.

New Zealand (3.75)

Under Ian Foster, the All Blacks have lost their aura of invincibility and endured historic hardships, chief among them losing a Test series to Ireland and suffering a shocking defeat to Argentina at home last year, which saw them plummet to an all-time low fifth position on the world rankings last year. 

And, yet, while their steely aura is no more, the All Blacks are certainly back, having blasted through the turbulence with the help of new lieutenants Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan and put together an impressive 11-match unbeaten streak. The sleeping giant has awakened and found its footing and, with their excellent track record, the three-time champions have edged ahead of France and Ireland as our tournament favourites at 3.75 outright. 

Reinforcing their pack with world-class props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax and the rise of the likes of Shannon Frizell has given them the hard edge they’d lacked prior to Ryan taking over as forwards coach from John Plumtree last July. At the same time, they’ve retained the experience and class of Samuel Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, captain Sam Cane and Ardie Savea. 

As crucially, Foster has figured out his best backline composition with Richie Mo’unga as the marshall, Jordie Barrett at No 12 and Beauden Barrett at fullback as the pivotal pieces. The 35-7 record loss to the Springboks in their final warm-up match at Twickenham exposed some vulnerabilities, however, it doesn’t wipe away the growth they’ve made over the last year to move back up to second in the rankings.

With 1,493 caps between them at an average of 45 per player, the 2023 vintage is the most experienced All Blacks World Cup squad ever and put them in a strong position to become the first country to clinch the Webb Ellis Cup four times. 

Squad:

Forwards: Ethan de Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Nepo Laulala, Fletcher Newell, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Tamaiti Williams, Dane Coles, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Codie Taylor, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tupou Vaa’i, Samuel Whitelock, Sam Cane (captain), Shannon Frizell, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea.

Backs: Finlay Christie, Cam Roigard, Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo’unga, Jordie Barrett, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Caleb Clarke, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Will Jordan, Emoni Narawa, Mark Telea.

Head coach: Ian Foster.

Uruguay (1001)

Uruguay have had more success in World Cups than fellow minnows Namibia, managing a win in three of their last four appearances. 

The historic 30-27 triumph over Fiji in 2019 was Los Teros’ greatest day and one of the highlights of the tournament, the wild celebrations from the players and coaching staff making for a heart-warming moment that will live on forever. 

They’ll look to recreate that magic in their opening game against Italy and will target the clash against the Welwitschias as the one to win. 

Squad:

Forwards: Felipe Aliaga, Diego Arbelo, Manuel Ardao, Matias Benitez, Lucas Bianchi, Santiago Civetta, Carlos Deus, Manuel Diana, Eric dos Santos, Ignacio Dotti, Facundo Gattas, German Kessler, Manuel Leindekar, Ignacio Peculo, Reinaldo Piussi, Guillermo Pujadas, Juan Manuel Rodríguez, Mateo Sanguinetti.

Backs: Juan Manuel Alonso, Santiago Alvarez, Baltazar Amaya, Santiago Arata, Felipe Arcos Perez, Bautista Basso, Felipe Berchesi, Felipe Etcheverry, Ignacio Facciolo, Nicolas Freitas, Tomas Inciarte, Gaston Mieres, Agustin Ormaechea, Rodrigo Silva, Andres Vilaseca (captain).
Head coach: Esteban Meneses.

Fixtures:

France v New Zealand

Friday, 8 September – 21:15

Italy v Namibia

Saturday, 9 September – 13:00

France v Uruguay 

Thursday, 14 September – 21:00

New Zealand v Namibia

Friday, 15 September – 21:00

Italy v Uruguay

Wednesday, 20 September – 17:45

France v Namibia

Thursday, 21 September – 21:00

Uruguay v Namibia

Wednesday, 27 September – 17:45

New Zealand v Italy

Friday, 29 September – 21:00

New Zealand v Uruguay

Thursday, 5 October – 21:00

France v Italy

Friday, 6 October – 21:00