Brown backing Boks for World Cup
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Former Scotland captain Kelly Brown is backing the Springboks to win the World Cup in England later this year.
Brown believes that while there are more than a few worthy contenders for the title, the Springboks who Scotland face in the group stage, look like the strongest at this stage.
"To win the tournament, I would go for South Africa, provided Scotland don’t win, of course!
"In saying that the All Blacks are the number one side in the world and have been for the last five or six years and will take quite a bit of beating.
"Also I think England playing at home are very dangerous. They’re a side that has been growing and has been developing since the last World Cup and I think they will pose a serious threat," he told rugby365.
Brown last played for Scotland in the Six Nations last year, before being dropped by then-coach Scott Johnson, and has been overlooked by current coach Vern Cotter who recently named a 46-man training squad which did not include the 33-year-old Saracens loose forward.
Despite being surplus to requirements, Brown is looking forward to the global showpiece later this year, and is optimistic about the young Scotland team's chances in a group that features South Africa, Japan, USA and Samoa."As a rugby fan you can’t fail to be excited by the Rugby World Cup. I would have loved the chance to play in the World Cup but saying that I’m looking forward to watching as many games as I can.
"I think Scotland can do really well in the World Cup. Yes it’s a young side but being a young side means they are very exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing them play," he said.
Having featured in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups for Scotland, Brown is disappointed to miss out, but is hopeful that Scotland will get good support considering the tournament is being hosted in England.
"I hope that having the World Cup close to home should give Scotland an advantage. We have a really tough pool so the more support we can generate for the team is only going to have a positive effect," he said.
Although the bulk of Cotter's training squad come from either Edinburgh or Glasgow, there are a few 'overseas-based' players such as Brown's Saracens teammate Jim Hamilton in the mix.
Brown commented that while England have the resources to overlook overseas-based players, Scotland are not in the same position.
"England have set their stall out and said if you go oversees you will not play for England. I think that’s a very good rule for England but that Scotland can’t really afford to do that because we’re such a small nation, and as a consequence the Scottish player base is significantly smaller. So we need to have all of our top players involved, wherever they are they based," he added.
*Kelly Brown was speaking to Rugby365.com during a grassroots Rugby training session in the Scottish Highlands, as part of the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour of UK and Ireland. Kelly, in his role as a Land Rover Ambassador, drove the Webb Ellis Cup in the custom-built Rugby World Cup 2015 Defender to Highland RFC to conduct a training session for children in the club’s youth section. As a Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2015, Land Rover's #WeDealInReal campaign will champion the people that are at the heart and soul of the game by putting grassroots clubs on the global stage.
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