Rassie Erasmus, head coach

On being drawn in Pool B with Italy, Georgia and Romania:

"Those games [against Georgia and Romania] will give you a real solid character. And then if you think about Italy, I've said it earlier this year, I think Italy will be three or four [in the world] in my personal opinion, just because we played against them three times this year. And we're going to play against them at the end-of-year tour next year. So yeah, I can't just say I'm unhappy about the draw. Nobody can get the perfect draw."

On being champions and favourites:

"We're thinking of next year first, and I can't answer you a different answer, because I will be lying. It's a new competition, the Autumn Nations Cup. It's something that's in there. We are trying to build our team, and we are a really competitive team who can win it, in 2027.

"But you can lose that sort of favourite tag very quickly, if you have a bad year, the year before the World Cup. So I don't think the team has ever responded negatively to pressure. The British and Irish Lions series, through COVID, against the world in 2019, 2023. Hopefully that doesn't dry up before we get to the World Cup.

On travelling large distances in Australia:

"I'm more worried about the travelling time and where you're based. And all of those things haven't been cleared up. Charles Wessels, our general manager, is busy with that. Currently, if you play a game in Perth and you fly from Perth to Sydney... I think that will be the tough part of the draw. So having your guys battle ready, I mean, Georgia is going to physically give it to you. Romania is going to physically give it to you. I really think Italy is on the up. And we can always intensify the training sessions, because we've got 33 players that all can start for you."

On having an extra knockout match:

"I've been to four World Cups with the team, but I haven't been through that. Now, you can be knocked out there. And it's probably a good thing for lower-tier nations to have another chance. So if that's good for rugby, it's good pressure on all teams playing.

"There were was one tough pool game in the past, and then there was a quarter-final, semi-final, final. But the World Cup became now five really tough games. It's almost tougher than the Rugby Championship."

On Italy:

"They can give us troubles. This year, we played them three times. We're going to play them four times prior to the World Cup. There are a little bit of things, game plans. It's almost like training against a team you play. It's the same with New Zealand, if I can say it that way.

"[Italy head coach] Gonzalo [Quesada] is a very sharp guy. And if their team is fit... I think their player depth is maybe a thing where they run out of steam because they don't have enough players. But they're going to be strong still. They're a clever team.

"They're from all over the world. They've got experience from France, from different clubs. Very few of them actually play in Italy. That will be our pressure game."

Siya Kolisi, captain

On being one of the older players:

"You have 50 players, that means for us, who are a bit older, we don't play as much and everybody gets an opportunity. And the guys that are new in the squad are getting an opportunity so that if we do fall or not make it to the World Cup, that nobody has to stress."

"As coach Rassie said, we can't look so far ahead. What's important for us is next year and then see how we are."