The Rugby World Cup 2015 will be starting from 18 September when England will take on Fiji in the opening game of the championship. The teams have been sweating it out ahead of the World Cup and one team, who have already won the World Cup twice, would not want to leave any leaves unturned, and that is South Africa.
South Africa will be battling it out with Scotland, Samoa, Japan and United States of America in order to qualify for the knock-out rounds of the tournament. Let us have a look how the Pool B is poised at the moment:
South Africa:
The Springboks, as they are popularly known, have been pitted in a rather easy group. If nothing goes wrong, they are almost certain to reach the semi-final stages of the Rugby World Cup 2015. South Africa have already won the World Cup twice, once in 1995 and again in 2007. They have a lot of firepower to clinch the title for the third time this year. Ryan Habana, Handre Pollard, Victor Matfield and the skipper Jean de Villiers have a lot of experience with them and they will form the core of the team. Their first match is against Japan and it will be an easy fixture for the Springboks.
Scotland:
Scotland are ranked 10th in the world and they too have a chance to qualify for the quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup 2015. They have been in a decent form off late but they will have to step that up because this is the big occasion and there is no room for any lacklustre play.
Samoa:
Samoa will also be fancying their chances to qualify for the knock-out stages of the World Championship in England. They are ranked 12th but will have to overcome the powers of South Africa and Scotland if they would want to make it to the last eight. An upset might be on the cards if the famous Pisi brothers are on a song for the Pacific Islanders.
Japan:
The Brave Blossoms have an awful record in the history of Rugby World Cup. They have never made it to the knock-out stages of the tournament and the only win in the World Championship was achieved in 1991 against Zimbabwe. After that, they have never won a Rugby game in the World Cup. Japan will be hosting the next Rugby World Cup in 2019 and that might urge the Blossoms to flourish in the edition. But it will be really difficult for them.
United States of America:
Ranked 16th in the world, they have a very slim chance of progressing to the next round of the Rugby World Cup 2015. Just like the Blossoms, The Eagles too never made it to the knock-out rounds of the World Championship. The only match they can win is against Japan and that is likely to be a good game of Rugby.
