France v South Africa - teams and prediction
QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW: Not since the opening match – when hosts France faced three-time champions New Zealand – has there been so much hype around a World Cup fixture.
Yes, there was South Africa against Ireland and Scotland versus Ireland.
However, the anticipation and puffery have certainly gone next level this week.
It was augmented by the ballyhoo around French captain Antoine Dupont’s faster-than-usual return from a cheekbone fracture.
On him rests the hopes of a nation, almost like he will single-handedly destroy their adversaries.
No doubt they face the severest of tests in holders South Africa at the Stade de France on Sunday.
There is reason for the clamour around Les Bleus this week.
France have reached the Final three times without success.
They are also still smarting about being beaten by South African in the 1995 semifinal in a very wet Durban in monsoon-like conditions – with some again airing the view that they were denied a legitimate, potentially match-winning try.
That is why there was so much attention and hype surrounding the return of Dupont, the Player of the Year in 2021.
Some have questioned the abrasive scrumhalf’s quick recovery after his surgeon allowed him to resume contact training this week, but the French management was playing it cool.
“We dealt with it in a calm manner,” coach Fabien Galthié said.
“We were comfortable because we had time, we didn’t force decisions. We went step by step, we didn’t push whatever it was.”
Dupont’s return will inevitably be a boost to the side which is unbeaten on home soil since he was named skipper in November 2021.
But standing in the 26-year-old’s way is Siya Kolisi’s South Africa, the 2019 champions looking for their fourth World Cup triumph.
For the winners, there is a place in the semifinals and an enticing tie against either a misfiring England or a Fiji side that would be stepping into unknown territory.
For the losers, however, it would spell an early exit from a tournament that both believe they can win.
For many, it is a premature Final in a skewed draw.
It would be the bitterest of pills for the French, not just the players but the public who have muscled in behind Galthié’s team since he took over after a disappointing 2019 World Cup.
It could just be a game of great contrasts.
The Springboks have been crafty in avoiding too much about their potential tactics – even though there are some hints in their team selection that suggest they will not revert to type.
The Boks are likely to run more – a suggestion is borne out by the selection of the halfback combination, Cobus Reinach and Manie Libbok.
This may suggest the Boks may well be a touch more expansive than usual.
The French will again rely heavily on the skill and mastery of Dupont, as well as their famed long kicking game.
The South African coach staff openly stated that France prefers not to play with the ball and waits for the opposition to make mistakes.
(Article continues below the Springbok interviews …)
“There are not a lot of weaknesses in the French side,” Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said Friday in his media briefing.
“One thing a bit different is their kicking game.
“They make no bones about it – they prefer not to play with the ball.
“They pressurise you, try to suffocate you and force you into making errors, which is a very good defensive system from Shaun [Edwards].
“So you have to find strategies around that and we addressed that with our team selection.
“If you look at their set-pieces, they win their ball and then they have some X-factor, So they are a well-rounded team who puts teams under pressure and don’t give up, they play for 80 minutes.”
With 880 caps in the starting XV, it’s South Africa’s second-most experienced test line-up ever.
Most of those caps are in the run-on pack, who have 623 caps between them – more than any other front eight in Springbok history.
And there are plenty more on the bench, as well.
The last time these two teams opposed each other on the playing field, in November last year, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Antoine Dupont were both sent off in a hard-fought encounter in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille.
On that day Les Bleus came from behind to win 30-26 thanks to a late try from prop Sipili Falatea and a last-gasp penalty by Thomas Ramos.
“We’re always nervous before this kind of match,” the French coach, Galthié, said.
“It would be a lie to say there’s no tension.
“That’s what makes these moments so special.
“We try to make the most of these moments, live them well together, and move forward with pleasure, joy, happiness and determination.”
He added that this was the ‘most important’ match of his time as France coach.
“The past is just a memory.
“Our next match is against the world champions, who beat the [British and Irish] Lions, a winning team.
“They’re a team that inspires us, that we’ve followed a lot.
“They talk a lot about the nation, about uniting the country.
“We love how they carry the symbol of their country.
“I learned a lot about their country and their culture over there.
“Playing against them, in Paris, at Stade de France, in a World Cup quarterfinal, is magnificent, it’s wonderful.
“We’re well aware of that.
“For us, the challenge is simply to play rugby with pleasure, as a team and with ambition.
“We want to rise to this challenge as we always have.”
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi also made no attempt to play down the significance of the encounter.
“Of course, it’s a big game, we all know that,” Kolisi said.
“We have experienced it before in Japan and it is difficult.
“But we find strength in each other, we know we have 65 million people back home supporting us.
“In our last game against them in Marseille, the atmosphere was amazing.
“But you can’t think too much about what is happening around you, the main thing is to focus on the game.”
Dupont said he has no fear about playing in such an intense, physical encounter – despite the obvious risk of to his facial injury.
He will be playing with a scrum cap as protection.
“In matches with these levels of intensity, there’s always pain, whether physical or mental,” the scrumhalf said.
“International matches are always tough.
“We saw that in November.
“We have to be willing to suffer to achieve what we want.
“We have very high goals.
“We know what we have to do and that it’s going to be very tough from start to finish.
“If we’re not ready for that, we’re not ready to go where we want to go.”
Players to watch
For France: Galthié has made just one change to his starting XV that defeated Italy 60-7 in the last game, with captain Antoine Dupont returning 24 days after fracturing his cheekbone against Namibia in Marseille. Galthié has named a 6-2 bench split for the second time this tournament, though Sekou Macalou has been employed on the wing in the past, while 12 of the starting XV that defeated South Africa in Marseille in 2022 have been named again this time. In preparation for the game Dupont trained wearing a head guard and will wear the protection for the game, following the doctors’ advice. Dupont starts instead of Maxime Lucu. The Toulouse scrumhalf partners Matthieu Jalibert and regains the captain’s armband from flank Charles Ollivon. First-choice hooker Julien Marchand remains sidelined with a hamstring problem with his club teammate Peato Mauvaka deputising once again.
For South Africa: Nienaber has named 13 of the 15 players who started against Ireland in round three. The only two changes are at scrumhalf, where Cobus Reinach gets the nod ahead of Faf de Klerk, and at No.8, with Duane Vermeulen in place of Jasper Wiese. Reinach partners Manie Libbok at halfback, with the 2019 World Cup-winning duo Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard on the bench. Pollard had been brought into the squad, after hooker Malcolm Marx suffered a tournament-ending injury, due to his kicking at goal being far superior to Libbok. There are 11 changes from the win over Tonga in the last pool match, but just two from the Boks’ defeat to world No.1 side Ireland last month.
Head to head
France has lost just one of their last 28 matches on home soil – against Scotland in March 2021 – and have won their last 18 games on French soil.
Antoine Dupont has not lost a match as captain, and Maxime Lucu has been on the winning side in every Test he has played.
Prediction
@rugby365com: France by five points
Teams
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (captain), 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Yoram Moefana.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt–Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kobe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux
Date: Sunday, October 15
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Kick-off: 21.00 (19.00 GMT, 21.00 CEST)
Expected weather:More clouds than sun, but only a remote chance of precipitation. High of 15°C, going down to about 5°C at kick-off.
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
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* Additional reporting by @rugbyworldcup & AFP
