South Africa
Coach Heyneke Meyer
Captain Jean de Villiers
World ranking 4 World Cup best Winners, 1995, 2007
Twice winners of the World Cup, the southern-hemisphere powerhouse are sure to top Pool B but South Africa’s buildup has been anything but smooth. Defeat at home in the Rugby Championship by Argentina was followed by a row over quotas of non-white players in Meyer’s squad with the country’s Agency for New Agenda party seeking a court order to prevent the team from leaving the country – a particularly depressing scenario on the 20th anniversary of an epic World Cup triumph inspired by Nelson Mandela.
But, despite the fraught last month, the Springboks will be hard to beat in this tournament. They have huge experience with Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and the captain Jean de Villiers. The 38-year-old warhorse Matfield and Schalk Burger are taking part in their fourth World Cups and Morne Steyn is back a year after playing his last Test. Francois Louw, the Bath flanker, makes the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury and Willie le Roux will provide plenty of flair. The Springboks will probably not repeat their triumphs of 1995 and 2007, but they will at least reach the semi-finals.
Scotland
Coach Vern Cotter
Captain Greig Laidlaw
World ranking 10 World Cup best 4th, 1991
Cotter was soon alerted to the size of the task of restoring Scotland’s fortunes after a dire Six Nations, but the coach has helped repair some of their shattered confidence this summer and there have been encouraging signs in warm-up games with Ireland, Italy and France.
The New Zealander has made some controversial calls in his squad selection, though, with Blair Cowan, the London Irish flanker, left out after appearing throughout the Six Nations. Another flanker, John Barclay, must be wondering just what he has to do after scoring a try in the demolition of Italy at Murrayfield in his first game in almost two years but being sent back to play for the Scarlets. The ditching of both is questionable, especially as John Hardie is picked only a few weeks after leaving New Zealand for Scotland. But Cotter has a good lineout, with the Gray brothers impressing their coach, and match-winners in his backs, including the captain Laidlaw, Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg, Matt Scott and the London-Irish bound Sean Maitland.
It’s a big if but, if they click, a quarter-final place at least beckons, which should help create the feelgood factor missing for so long in Scottish rugby.
Samoa
Coach Stephen Betham
Captain Ofisa Treviranus
World ranking 12 World Cup best Quarter-final, 1991, 1995
The second quarter-final spot may well hinge on Samoa’s final pool game against Scotland in Newcastle. The Pacific Islanders have made it to two quarter-finals and they were impressive in their defeat by the All Blacks two months ago but there were warning signs in the defeat by the Barbarians, not least a creaking lineout and a lack of discipline that saw their Newcastle lock Kane Thompson sent off for punching. There is plenty of flair in Northampton’s Pisi brothers and the Saints’ scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i, and great things are expected of the full-back Tim Nanai-Williams. Samoa will pack a punch, in a good way.
USA
Coach Mike Tolkin
Captain Chris Wyles
World ranking 16 World Cup best First round, one win, 1987, 2003, 2011
Tolkin’s side will target a win over Japan in their last game at Gloucester, but by then both sides will almost certainly be heading home. The Eagles, who have never progressed beyond the World Cup pool stages – or recorded more than one win in the tournament – have plenty of players in their ranks with Premiership experience, not least the former Northampton second-rower Samu Manoa and Wyles of Saracens. The 30-year-old Manoa, now at Toulon, will be a constant try-scoring threat if they can get the ball to him, while Takudzwa Ngwenya, the Zimbabwe-born wing who plays for Biarritz, is another dangerman to watch out for.
Japan
Coach Eddie Jones
Captain Michael Leitch
World ranking 14 World Cup best First round, third in pool, 1991
The Brave Blossoms have an extra incentive to flourish: they host the next World Cup. But their record in finals is miserable, with their only win coming against Zimbabwe in Belfast in 1991, and they will struggle despite Jones’s extensive coaching experience, the Australian having replaced John Kirwan in 2012.
Jones, who has opted for only two scrum-halves in his squad, will be concerned about a lack of weight in his scrum, who have been coached by the former England captain Steve Borthwick. If the pack can get hold of the ball, the Highlanders’ busy little scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka certainly knows how to use it.
