Rugby World Cup 2011
Bok fans jittery over Fiji game
2011-09-15 14:14
Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Springbok supporters have surprisingly low
expectations of a convincing victory by the defending champions in their World
Cup Pool D meeting with relative minnows Fiji in Wellington on Saturday.
Gallery: Hottest RWC WAGS
Click to BUY your very own Springbok RWC jerseyThat is if the findings of a Sport24 reader poll are
anything to go by … only about a third of some 1 800 respondents believe the
Boks will romp home comfortably, following their fortuitous victory over Wales
to open their RWC 2011 account.
Bear in mind that this is a meeting between the IRB
third-ranked South Africa and opponents who are a lowly 15th as
things stand, and that in two previous meetings the Boks have won with a bit to
spare each time – 42-18 in Pretoria in 1996 and 37-20 in Marseilles during the
last World Cup.
We asked the question: “Injuries aplenty in the Springbok
World Cup squad: will they manage to … beat Fiji on Saturday?”
And only 34% of those polled thus far have gone for the
bullish first option: “Of course, easy victory for the Boks.”
Exactly 50% of respondents opted for the more cautious: “The
Boks will win, but only after a major scare.”
There was also a truly glass-half-empty lobby of 16% who
chose the final option: “I’m worried … I can see Fiji beating the Boks.”
The Fijians are a
point ahead of the Springboks in Pool D, because they earned a bonus point in
the up-tempo 49-25 triumph over Namibia to launch their own campaign at the
World Cup.