WATCH | Bok centre Am: '4 or 5 favourites' for Rugby World Cup

Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am reckons there are "four of five" favourites for this year's Rugby World Cup in France.

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The Springboks, currently fourth in the World Rugby rankings, are the defending champions but will contest in a tough Pool B which also features top-ranked Ireland and world No 5 Scotland.

Second-ranked France and third-ranked New Zealand feature in Pool A, and either of those two nations will likely square off in the quarter-finals against the top two teams from Pool B.

In an interview last week, the Bok midfielder acknowledged the pressure will be on the defending champions but said they were confident in their abilities.

"The challenge now is that we're going there to defend the World Cup. I definitely know that we're not the only favourites. There are four or five favourites that are in the top five IRB (World Rugby) rankings.

"It will really be an interesting World Cup in my point of view. I think the likes of France, being at home, are definitely one of the teams to beat. We've seen Ireland in the past two years, they’ve been playing amazing rugby, they’re ranked No 1 in the world currently. So, yeah, it’s going to be interesting," Am said.

World Rugby rankings

Pool A

France, New Zealand, Italy, Uruguay , Namibia

Pool B

South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Romania

Pool C

Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal

Pool D

England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Chile

The Rugby World Cup runs from 8 September to 28 October.

Springbok 2023 fixtures: 

Rugby Championship:

Saturday, 8 July - Springboks v Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

Saturday, 15 July - Springboks v New Zealand (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland)

Saturday, 29