Even though the Springboks posted a 61% win rate in 2022, South Africa is the “best team in the world”, says renowned France defence coach Shaun Edwards.
The Springboks won eight of 13 Tests in 2022 and ended the year in fourth place on World Rugby’s official rankings.
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Ireland are currently ranked first with 90.63 points, followed by France (90.01), New Zealand (88.98), South Africa (88.97) and England (83.66).
The Boks missed the opportunity to climb the rankings in November when they suffered successive losses to Ireland and France on the end-of-year tour.
Despite this, France’s defensive guru Edwards told the World Rugby website that Jacques Nieneber’s side should be considered the favourite to retain the Webb Ellis Cup at the World Cup later this year.
“The world rankings are brilliant for fans who want to see how their teams are doing and I know Ireland are currently at the top of the list,” said Edwards.
“But for me, South Africa is the best team in the world because they are the reigning world champions and I think they played like the world champions for large parts of the year-end series.
“The Boks had everything people talked about – they were powerful and physical and perhaps the best in the world when it came to set scrums and drives – but they also did more than that.”
France, by contrast, finished a memorable 2022 unbeaten and also claimed their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2010 earlier in the year. Fabian Galthie’s charges are on a 13-Test winning streak going into the Six Nations in February.
“I was brought here (France) as someone who had won the Six Nations four times before. I won many cups with Wales and the Wasps and not being able to win a cup in my first two years with France weighed heavily on my shoulders,” Edwards said.
“So, I was absolutely relieved when we were able to reap the rewards of our hard work with this young team, who continued to improve.
“The support of the French fans was something very special. If your fans are proud of their team, you know you’re doing a good job.
“The fans are not stupid, they can see when a team is working hard and has the right attitude and they can also see when a team is taking a step backwards.”
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