Rain set to hit World Cup final, Boks to turn to Pollard?

Saturday's highly-anticipated Rugby World Cup final between the Springboks and New Zealand in France could take place in the pouring rain, if early weather reports are to be believed. 

According to most weather sites, such as Accuweather, there is a 100% likelihood of rain in Paris on Saturday night with around 8mm expected. 

The wind, too, is expected to be a factor with the same site predicting gusts of up to 56 km/h. 

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The Springboks faced difficult weather conditions in their 16-15 semi-final win over England this past weekend, and that undoubtedly contributed to the coaching duo of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber replacing starting flyhalf Manie Libbok with Handre Pollard in just the 31st minute of the game. 

It was a move that proved to be a masterstroke, with Pollard showing all of his experience and pedigree in managing the game and getting the Boks over the line with a 50m penalty kick just three minutes from time. 

The predicted weather for the final will once again bring the flyhalf discussion to the surface, with Pollard looking the safer bet. 

The All Blacks will surely prefer to play the game in dry conditions given their desire to run the ball and play attacking rugby, and while wet weather might slightly favour the Boks, they too have been at their best in this competition with Libbok pulling the strings and sparking attacks. 

This, of course, is a rematch of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final when the Boks stunned the world by beating New Zealand 15-12 at Ellis Park after extra time. 

While the sides have met in the World Cup on four occasions since then, none of those matches have been the tournament decider. 

The Boks will name their