Tom Brady is rooting for South Africa, not the USA, at the Rugby World Cup in Japan

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Tom Brady will be supporting South Africa at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

• Tom Brady will be supporting South Africa, not the USA, at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
• The NFL icon shared a message of support for the Springboks ahead of the tournament via Twitter early Friday morning.
• "Springboks, good luck to you in Japan," said Brady in the video posted by the national team's official account. "Kick some butt. Go Bokke!"
• South Africa take on current world champions New Zealand in its opening game on Saturday, and head coach Rassie Erasmus believes his team can go "deep into the tournament" if it remains injury-free, according to the Irish Times.
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Tom Brady won't be supporting the USA at the Rugby World Cup in Japan. 

Instead, the NFL icon will be backing South Africa. 

Brady, a six-time SuperBowl champion, shared a message with rugby fans via the Springboks' official Twitter page on Friday, in which he says: "Springboks, good luck to you in Japan.

"Kick some butt. Go Bokke!"

South Africa was more than welcoming of Brady's support, captioning the tweet: "Can't go wrong with the GOAT in your corner. Appreciate the support @tombrady. #StrongerTogether #RWC2019 #RWCTokyo."

South Africa faces a tough start to the tournament on Saturday when it takes on current world champion New Zealand at the Nissan Stadium, Yokohama. 

New Zealand has won both of the last two Webb Ellis Cups in 2011 and 2015, and are favorites to lift for a record fourth time. 

However, prior to the Kiwi's dominance, South Africa were the last team to be crowned world champions in 2007, and head coach Rassie Erasmus believes his side have a good chance to be crowned kings of the world again in Japan, and bring to an end New Zealand's eight-year spell on the throne.

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"If you go purely on world rankings, we are still hovering between four and five, so that says we are not favorites," Erasmus told the Irish Times. "But I think the gap between team one and five in the world has shrunk," said the former Munster director of rugby.

"We are in with a much better chance than 18 months ago. I wouldn't tag us as favorites, but we have a much more realistic chance."

He added: "My job is to coach well and the players' job is to play well. We do have the talent and we have worked really hard.

"That is ultimately what we will be judged on. If we are lucky and we don't get a lot of injuries, we should go deep in the tournament."

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The Rugby World Cup kicks off on Friday, when hosts Japan take on Russia.