The 'narrative' Boks are looking to eradicate this Nations Championship

SPOTLIGHT: The Boks have several boxes they want to tick during the European leg of the Nations Championship, and this weekend against France presents a great opportunity to double up on the work they did against Italy.

Rugby365 reported on Sunday how the Boks managed to keep their penalty count low in their 66-7 victory over Italy, where they conceded merely five penalties throughout the 80-minute contest.

This weekend they’ll come up against a different beast when facing Fabien Galthie’s troops.

*Also read: Team Talk: Bok pack primed to attack France from the outset

The Boks are gunning for their third consecutive victory over Les Bleus at the Stade de France, having tasted victory last year in the Nations Series and during the 2023 World Cup when they defeated the hosts by a solitary point en route to their fourth global title.

Put those ingredients in a pot, and one can almost guarantee it will boil over at some point, and that’s where the Boks will be tested.

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#TeamAnnouncement: Rassie makes two changes to Bok matchday squad for France showdown 👇#NationsChampionship #Springboks #SouthAfrica #France #FRAvRSA https://t.co/3kaHCbDlVY

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) November 9, 2026

The Bok boss said the team want to change the negative perception of them from the rugby world through their actions when it comes to the discipline side of the game.

“It takes time for coaches, referees and pundits to believe we are not just this physical team who just wants to bully the opposition into submission,” Erasmus told Rugby365 on Monday from the team hotel in Paris.

“We believe that we are a tactical team with a kicking game and a running game, with a well-disciplined level-change when it comes to tackling. We try to avoid getting shoulder charges in.

“It’s tough to shrug that reputation off, but again, last week’s performance [discipline-wise] helps.

“This week we have [Andrea] Piardi as the referee, and we had him against Australia [in Perth earlier this season].

“We know how difficult that situation was for him, with no communication with his TMO [Television Match Official], having to use cellphones to communicate.

“Fabien [Galthie] is a great coach, and France are also a disciplined team; in the past, when they concede five or six penalties, they generally win the match.

“When they go above 10 penalties, they tend to struggle a bit, as most teams do, so yes, we are trying to be seen as a team that’s disciplined.”

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A different beast awaits on Friday night 🐔🇫🇷

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🌐#Rugby365 #FRWvRSA #NationsChampionship https://t.co/0yRNT1OFul

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) November 9, 2026

Erasmus also emphasised the danger of conceding penalties against a team like France and mentioned the Boks will get a specialist to help them in the scrums ahead of Friday evening’s Test.

“Well, [Tomas] Ramos isn’t playing, and he is an awesome goal kicker; he used to really punish us with his boot. Matthieu Jalibert and Romain Ntamack are also unavailable.

“Then there’s [Maxime] Lucu, who can kick the ball over from anywhere and even [Antoine] Dupont can. We feel France are doing quite well.

“Vlok Cilliers coached them for some time, and I had a chat to him as well.

“Those players kick the ball a mile, so if you give away a penalty against France, you’ll end up inside your 22 metre area, and they’ll maul you and play directly.

“So yes, our discipline will be important; we are trying hard to keep our penalty count low.

“Funnily enough, we gave away a scrum penalty against Italy and two free kicks and one [penalty] for not rolling away.

“But during the first half we conceded one penalty and the other four came in the second half.

“We’re really working hard to get that tag off us that we are a team that plays on the edge of foul play, because we’re really not.

“We’re trying to coach the team to stay disciplined. We’re even trying to get [Jonathan] Humphreys, who is a scrum specialist from World Rugby, in.

“He’s going to join us on Wednesday to see what we are training in the scrums.”