Victor Matfield expects plenty of physicality and hostility when the Springboks face France in Paris on Friday night.
The Boks have won nine of their last 10 encounters against Les Bleus, including the last five meetings at the Stade de France.
That includes the famous 29-28 World Cup quarter-final win three years ago and last year’s 32-17 triumph, when the Boks played the entire second half with 14 men.
The teams head into Friday’s Nations Championship clash on the back of big wins, with the Boks thrashing Italy 66-7 in Turin and France hammering Fiji 54-17.
The world champions currently top the southern hemisphere standings, with Les Bleus leading the northern hemisphere log, setting the stage for another epic encounter.
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Speaking on the Rugby Rivals podcast, Matfield praised the Boks’ first-half performance against Italy but warned that they would face a much tougher challenge in Paris.
“They will be tested this weekend,” he said. “I think France will be a different team from the team that played against Fiji.
“I don’t think they were really good against Fiji, but this week there will be intensity, there will be physicality, there will be some hatred that comes into the game as well.
“So the Boks will be tested this weekend.”
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However, the former Bok lock believes South Africa’s forwards can dominate an injury-hit French pack that will be without the likes of Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament.
“For me, I don’t think the French have got the pack that they had in the last two, three years. There are a few big injuries for them that will have an impact.
“The guys that played last weekend, I think they’re in trouble when it comes to scrum time. Fiji put them under pressure at scrum time, so I think they’re going to struggle to deal with our forward pack.”
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France are also suffering a flyhalf injury crisis, with Romain Ntamack, Matthieu Jalibert and Antoine Hastoy all ruled out, along with fullback Thomas Ramos, who can also play No 10.
Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu, who has previously played flyhalf for both club and country, is tipped to start at 10 on Friday night.
Matfield believes Les Bleus have the depth to cope.
“There must be other quality flyhalves in France. Maybe not at the level of Jalibert, but a good, solid flyhalf. I think if they go with Lucu at 10, he’s a great rugby mind, solid player.
“I think they’ll be tough even though they don’t have Jalibert or Ntamack.”
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Photo: France Rugby/Facebook
The post Matfield: French hatred awaits Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Victor Matfield expects plenty of physicality and hostility when the Springboks face France in Paris on Friday night.
The post Matfield: French hatred awaits Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
