It’s a poster worthy of a final. This Sunday, the French rugby team faces South Africa in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. After a brilliant group stage and four victories including one against New Zealand, the Blues appear favorites, especially in a Stade de France won over to their cause. But the Springboks, reigning world champion, will be keen to make the French doubt by playing on the trump card: physical impact.
“Aggression, even a little nastiness”
Especially since the South Africans, who did not play this weekend, will have had two weeks of rest before this decisive match. The opportunity to change training camp, moving from the heat of Toulouse to Croissy-sur-Seine, in Yvelines, and to replenish the energy of these players who naturally have impressive physical power.
“It’s a team that diminishes the opponent, with aggressiveness, even a little nastiness,” confirms Serge Blanco, current top try scorer in the history of the French XV and Europe 1 consultant for this World Cup. “I played them for the first time in my life in 1980 and, at that time and until now, I have never seen a team as strong as them,” he assures.
The threat of a neutral match
The reigning world champions will also be able to count on the statistics against the Blues. In 45 confrontations since 1913, the Springboks have won 27 times compared to 12 victories for France and six draws. Likewise, the only meeting between the two teams in the World Cup turned to the advantage of the Green and Yellow, during the semi-final of the 1995 edition (19-15).
Two dark spots still obscure the picture among the French’s opponents. Coming second in their group, the South Africans fell against Ireland (8-13), another big favorite of the tournament. From a more political angle, the country’s federation must still comply with the new world anti-doping code. If this is not the case before Sunday’s match, the players could compete under a neutral banner.