Trevor Nyakane believes the Springboks could struggle to contain France playmaker Antoine Dupont in Paris on Friday night.
The scrumhalf superstar was named at flyhalf on Wednesday for the Nations Championship Test as Les Bleus look to end a run of five successive defeats to the Boks at the Stade de France dating back to 2013.
That includes the painful 29-28 World Cup quarter-final defeat in 2023 and last year’s 32-17 loss, when the Boks played the entire second half with 14 men.
“France are going to be very emotional, they’re going to be very hard on themselves,” Nyakane said on the For the Love of Rugby SA podcast. “Any team out there looking at the Springboks right now are thinking ‘we need to do a number on these guys’.
“Obviously the set-piece is going to be massive,” the former Bok prop added. “When you look at France and South Africa, physicality is a given. It’s going to be there and it’s going to be hard and it’s also going to be about who executes what they plan during the week properly.”
RASSIE: Les Bleus don’t know what Dupont will do
However, it is Dupont who concerns Nyakane most.
“We know the French would usually have a heavy, strong pack that’s difficult to move, but then it also looks like Dupont can do literally whatever he wants when he wants and everyone just needs to be ready. He makes a game very difficult to plan for.
“But I think for both sides, it’s going to come down to the set-piece and which pack of forwards is willing to go up that extra gear.”
LES BLEUS BRUISER: It’s going to hurt
Photo: @antoinedupont9/Instagram
The post Big Trev: Dupont can do whatever he wants appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Trevor Nyakane believes the Springboks could struggle to contain France playmaker Antoine Dupont in Paris on Friday night.
The post Big Trev: Dupont can do whatever he wants appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
