France v South Africa - Teams and Prediction
PREVIEW: This is a heavyweight showdown with a fired-up France team, playing at home in the majestic Stade de France in Paris, facing off against South Africa with their championship pedigree and physicality.
Under the Saint-Denis floodlights, Les Bleus and the Springboks will meet for the 47th time.
Call it a grudge match if you will. Not only will the French be looking to reclaim fourth spot in the world after being leapfrogged by England, but they have certainly not forgiven the Boks for RWC 2023.
This is conceivably about revenge. About a one-point heartbreak in the quarterfinal that still haunts French rugby like a bad dream.
And scars don’t fade easily.
This rivalry stretches back to 1913, when South Africa thumped France 38-5 in Bordeaux.
Since then, the Springboks have won 28 of the 46 Tests, France just 12. But numbers don’t tell the full story.
Antoine Dupont, still the heartbeat of France, is still sidelined through injury.
But Les Bleus have shown they were able to win the Six Nations without their talisman earlier this year.
The world champions have won four of the last five outings against France. They’ve scored over 100 tries in this fixture.
A week ago, they dismantled Japan 61-7 at Wembley. And in Siya Kolisi, they have an all-time great leader who will earn his 100th cap in Saint-Denis.
That his centurion moment comes at the Stade de France, the very ground where he lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 2023, feels fitting.
France’s big advantage is playing at home, where they’ve enjoyed strong form, and they will want to use the crowd and familiar surroundings to lift their game.
South Africa arrives with the reputation of scrummaging dominance, ruthless defence, and a killer instinct.
Despite the special milestones on the day, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus told reporters on Thursday that nothing had changed in terms of the team’s preparation this week.
“The only thing that will change is that Siya will run out ten seconds earlier, and that is it, and then the test match starts.
“We don’t like to make a big thing about that.
“Afterwards, we will have a little team function. Siya has a level head, and the whole team understands it.”
Erasmus also commented on the stadium and boisterous French crowd that is the norm at Stade de France, saying: “The stadium is 100m by 70m. It’s the same wherever you play in the world.
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“I guess it’s the cauldron of what the spectators do and how the French crowd gets behind their team.
“And that pressure gets to you as a team, or it gets to the ARs [assistant referees] or TMO [television match official] or the referee.
“And we had a meeting with the referee, same as Fabian [Galthie] had, and we all just want to go out and play good rugby.
France has been preparing to be bombarded with high balls this weekend as their forwards coach, Patrick Arlettaz, told reporters this week: “The South Africans average between 15 and 17 high balls per match.
“That’s significantly more than the number of scrums, and roughly the same as the number of line-outs. So we have no choice but to take this aspect of the game into account and dedicate time to it in training.
“We know we won’t be 100% successful in the air, so we have to organize ourselves accordingly. Especially since the Springboks are currently winning at least 50 percent of these high kicks.”
Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu had some kind words ahead of the clash.
“They’re indeed unbelievably strong, but they’ve also got a lot of quick and nimble youngsters coming through.
“There’s talent everywhere; they’re a complete side.
“We can’t wait to take them on. They’re back-to-back world champions. Everything’s set up perfectly for a great game.”
Players to watch:
For France: Louis Bielle-Biarrey is a young wing who’s been in fine try-scoring form. He has scored the most tries of any player for a Tier 1 nation in 2025 (8). The French pack will be out to test the formidable scrumming power of the South Africans. Their forwards, consisting of Guillar, normally a second-rower, and flankers Anthony Jelonch and Paul Boudehent, together with heavyweight second-rower Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament, are a formidable force.
For South Africa: Eben Etzebeth and Cheslin Kolbe pose real threats in their respective roles: Etzebeth for physicality; Kolbe for speed and finishing. Kolisi and the pack need to dominate the set phases to set up good ball for the backs to play with. Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende to patrol the midfield with precision.
Prediction:
@rugby365: South Africa by six points
Teams:
France: 15 Tomas Ramos, 14 Damien Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Régis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortère
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Ruan Nortje, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
Date: Saturday, November 8
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Kick-off: 21.10 (22.10 SAST; 20.10 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
