The Springboks are gearing up for an action packed year, with six games confirmed before their World Cup title defence gets underway in the opening game with Scotland. The green and gold
look to defend their championship status in France after winning it in 2019 against England.

The South African rugby team will face Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina in July and these games will fall under the Castle Lager Rugby Championship. And then the last three games of
the Rugby World Cup preparations will involve Argentina, Wales, and New Zealand. These
three World Cup preparation games will fall in August with their last preparation game
coming on the 25th of August.

POOLS

Pool A

Pool A will consist of New Zealand, Italy, France, Uruguay, Namibia, and Uruguay. New Zealand
is favoured to win the group as it isthe only other country with three World Cup trophies
besides the title defences, South Africa. France is another contender, having come up
short in three different World Cup finals in the past, this could be their year.

Pool B

The Springboks landed in Pool B, alongside Scotland, Romania, Ireland, and Tonga. The games in this group will take place from the 10th of September until October 1st. And if the Springboks
make it all the way to the finals, that game will be taking place on the 28th of October.

The Springboks are expected to win this group comfortably. They are one of the tournament favourites, with the second best nation historically, being Scotland that finished fourth in
the 1991 World Cup.

Pool C

Wales and Australia land in the same pool, alongside Fiji, Georgia, and Portugal. According to
sports unfold, the Rugby World Rankings had Australia and Wales in sixth and ninth position towards the end of the 2022 calendar year. 

They are both expected to make it through this group, but that’s the beauty of this big stage. Nothing is set in stone. Some nations thrive with the underdog tag is placed on their heads.
It could be the case for either of the other countries looking to get their first silverware.

Pool D

This is arguably the most stacked pool in these World Cup groups. Three out of the five countries
in the group were ranked in the top 10 rankings of the Rugby World Cup. These nations were England (#5), Argentina (#8), and lastly Japan (#10).

Samoans are real sleepers in this group after their famous victory over England that came in
late 2022 to reach the maiden tournament final. We will label it as the group to watch.

Bet on the World Cup

It is a well-known fact that World Cups are unpredictable and it’s very hard to tell which nation will show up, and when. So many factors play a role in this. It could be nerves, sometimes just an off day, and sometimes just the worst match up stylistically for a great team.

And only those that really understand the sport will have the ability to see it coming before the game has even kicked off. We will do our part in preparing you for this prestigious tournament
by showing you the best possible bets for you.

We will be covering all the possible betting promotions that could be beneficial to you in the
course of the World Cup year. We will be your home of Rugby betting news, before the France World Cup, and especially during the World Cup.