South Africa eye Bolt factor to peak when it matters at World Cup

South African prop Tendai Mtawarira signs autographs during the official send-off for the World Cup in Johannesburg on September 11, 2015. By Gianluigi Guercia (AFP/File)

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) - An experienced South African team come into the World Cup in stuttering form amid a row over race quotas, but still look sure to steamroller their way through Pool B.

The Springboks are seeking their third World Cup title after winning on home soil in 1995 and in France in 2007.

This time around they have been drawn alongside Samoa, Scotland, Japan and the United States, and are hot favourites to advance as pool winners, with a likely quarter-final against the runners-up of Pool A which includes England, Australia, Wales and Fiji.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has taken no chances for his team's first outing, against the Japanese, on Sunday, naming the most experienced South African side ever -- the starting XV led by centre Jean de Villiers has 880 caps to their name, 44 more than the previous mark when South Africa played Australia in the 2011 quarter-final.

Meyer has come under pressure over a string of poor results including an historic defeat to Argentina in the recent Rugby Championship, but he stressed it was imperative to gain some momentum from the start.

"The players know that nothing but their best will be good enough on Saturday, and we realise the importance of starting the World Cup on a good note," he said.

The Springboks will go on to play Scotland, Samoa and the United States, and hooker Bismarck du Plessis said the team was hoping to peak at the big event as Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt does.

"I know not a lot is expected of us but we have great expectations," said Du Plessis.

"It's all about how you peak at the big tournaments. If you look at someone like Usain Bolt, he can be injured for long periods then he comes out and wins world championships and Olympics. It's the same in our sport."

The battle for the second automatic qualifying spot seems to be one between Samoa and Scotland, whose last pool match is sure to be a humdinger in Newcastle's St James' Park on October 10.

Scotland, coached by the hard-nosed Kiwi Vern Cotter, have a good lineout with the Gray brothers, Richie and Jonny, and the backs led by captain Greg Laidlaw and fly-half Finn Russell also feature impressive centre Mark Bennett, fleet-footed Stuart Hogg and New Zealand-born Sean Maitland.

Apart from Maitland, Cotter has not been afraid of calling up South Africans Josh Strauss and Willem Nel as well as ex-Highlanders flanker John Hardie, a controversial inclusion after his arrival from New Zealand just weeks before the tournament kicks off.

The Samoans arrive in England having slipped to 11th in the world rankings, the 1991 and 1995 World Cup quarter-finalists having last month lost the Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) final to Fiji.

But the South Sea Islanders are an exciting side dominated by overseas professionals captained by London Irish flanker Ofisa Treviranus and also featuring Leicester prop Logovi'i Mulipola, Wellington Hurricanes midfielder Rey Lee-Lo and the three Pisi brothers -- Tusi (Suntory Sungoliath), George and Ken (both Northampton) -- and perhaps most importantly dynamic scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i.

If the New Zealand-qualified Fotuali'i, one player many pundits say the All Blacks allowed to get away, gets his side ticking, the fight for second spot could well go their way.