The Rugby World Cup in France is set to be the most open in history, according to South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber, who says his Springbok side are better prepared now than when they lifted the trophy in Japan four years ago.South Africa's stock rose on the back of a thumping 35-7 warm-up win over New Zealand in neutral London last week, a record defeat for the All Blacks, but Nienaber, who will join Leinster after the tournament, believes it will be all about fine margins at the World Cup."We have spoken about how close the contenders are," he told reporters on Friday. "A lot of teams are in a position to win it and I believe it is going to be the most tightly contested World Cup in history."The key thing is to make sure you are 100% ready for a match.
If you are one or two percent off, the top teams will take advantage of that. We come in as defending champions, that is something we can’t hide from, you can’t shake that tag off.
We must accept it." We need your consent to load this YouTube content We use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences South Africa are in a tough Pool B with world number one Ireland and an in-form Scotland, who they meet in their opener in Marseille on 10 September.