Jean de Villiers backs Springboks to defend title in 'most fiercely contested World Cup ever'

Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers believes South Africa have a genuine shot at defending their title at this year's Rugby World Cup in France.

Fourteen Springboks have assembled in Cape Town for a three-week camp ahead of this year's Rugby World Cup, which will run from 8 September to 28 October.

The camp, which ends on Friday, served as preparation for players and coaches as the team builds towards their title defence.

De Villiers told News24 at a Citadel golf day on Saturday that the Springboks have what it takes to become one of the top contenders, despite their inconsistent performances.

"We shouldn't drop the ball. Look, it will be the most fiercely contested World Cup ever," said De Villiers, who helped raise over R2.1 million for the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School.

"There are a lot of teams that are good enough to win it and to beat each other on any given day. South Africa is right at the top as a contender."

The Springboks, ranked number four in the world, have had a mixed bag of international results in the last year.

On their end-of-year tour of Europe they managed victories over Italy and England, while the teams currently ranked at one and two in the world, Ireland and France, held strong against the 2019 world champions.

They couldn't get the better of the Wallabies in two Rugby Championship losses and were involved in a win/loss exchange with the All Blacks.

During the July home internationals against the Welsh, the Springboks were narrowly defeated (12-13) in between one tight (32-29) and one emphatic victory (30-14).

"I think we've got a pretty good squad that we can select from and it will actually be very difficult to narrow down to 31, but we're in