Boks' rivals hailed as 'the team to beat at next year's World Cup' by 2007 winner

South African World Cup winner Victor Matfield has claimed only three teams can win the World Cup next year – the Springboks, the All Blacks or France.

The former Springboks lock made the claim on his Rugby Rivals podcast following the latest round of Nations Championship rugby, where all three teams came out victorious.

While the All Blacks were expected to beat Italy, as were the Boks against a Scotland side that have never won against the hosts on South African soil, France’s contest against Australia was harder to call. Fabien Galthie’s side overturned a 21-12 deficit at half-time in Brisbane to come away 26-42 victors, with Matthieu Jalibert starring at full-back.

Les Bleus narrowly fell to the All Blacks in round one, but were without their contingent of Toulouse and Montpellier players for that match, and have rested superstar winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey for the summer. Given the depth they have exhibited over the past month, Matfield tipped the Six Nations champions as “probably the team to beat at next year’s World Cup.”

Unfortunately for the three sides, they will all be on the same side of the draw should they win their pools next year, with the All Blacks and Springboks expected to meet in the quarter-final stage, and France being the victors’ likely opponent in the semi-final.

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He said: “The French will probably be the team to beat at next year’s World Cup. The previous World Cup, they were a young team, but they’re building; they’ve got a lot of depth.

“I really believe there are only three teams that can win the World Cup and that’s South Africa, France or the All Blacks.

“I think Ireland can get close, but somehow I don’t see them winning three big games in a row. I think the pool will be difficult for them.

“The All Blacks are coming through really nicely at the moment, but I think for South Africa, the big threat is France.

“The depth they’ve got, the players they’ve got, the confidence – if you look at the European competition as well, dominating it with Bordeaux and with Toulouse – I think the French have just got the players.

“If you named a world XV now, there’d probably be 10 South Africans and five Frenchmen in that team.

“I’m joking. There would be quite a few from South Africa, the All Blacks and France.”