With Australia taking on Fiji, Argentina meeting France and tournament favorites New Zealand and South Africa facing off, Saturday promises to be a day of fireworks at the Rugby World Cup.
With five titles between them, the All Blacks and Springboks will look to win the upper hand in Pool B, a victory all but assuring one team the group win and the other the runner-up place and a spot on the other side of the draw.
(Siya Kolisi)[World Rugby/Getty/Kyodo]
No matter what, the teams still have a chance to meet again in the final if they survive the knockout stage.
"That's why this game is really important, to see where we are at as a group," South Africa captain Siya Kolisi said Friday. "You never know, after this, we might meet them again. So, it's a really big game, and I wouldn't say we have the edge or they have the edge -- it's 50-50 at the moment."
The return of Kolisi on the flank is the only change made by South Africa to the team that drew 16-16 with the All Blacks in Wellington in July, coach Rassie Erasmus going with the exact same 23 that beat Japan 41-7 on Sept. 6.
"We've found some consistency and some momentum in a number of ways this season and one of them is in selection," said Erasmus, who was part of the 1999 South Africa team that beat New Zealand in the third-place playoff.
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen, meanwhile, named Beauden Barrett at fullback and Richie Mo'unga at flyhalf with Sonny Bill Williams and Ben Smith on the bench as the All Blacks look to walk off with the Webb Ellis Cup for the fourth time overall and third straight time.
The game between Australia and Fiji promises to be an emotional one for the Wallabies' Fiji-born flyer Samu Kerevi.
After narrowly missing the cut for the tournament four years ago, the hard-running Kerevi is set to play his first World Cup match against a country that is perhaps closest to his heart.
"I think emotions will be high. This will be my first time playing Fiji," Kerevi, 25, said Friday.
(Samu Kerevi)[World Rugby/Getty/Kyodo]
"I know everyone in Fiji is pretty excited. Everyone is talking about it back home."
For France, the game against Argentina has particular significance given Les Bleus' poor World Cup record against the South Americans.
In three meetings at rugby's showpiece event, Argentina have a two-win, one-loss record against the European power, both wins coming when France was hosting the tournament in 2007 -- one, like this, in the teams' opening match and the other in the bronze final.
"The first game is often key. It sets the tone. But you should not put all your energy into this first game...Winning would be ideal to get the World Cup off to a good start. But the other three matches will count. Everything will count to the end," said France head coach Jacques Brunel.
Related coverage:
Rugby: World Cup team profiles
