The Springboks face one of their most challenging fixtures of the year when they face France on Friday night, when a partisan crowd will undoubtedly create one of the most hostile atmospheres.
All signs point towards what should be an mouthwatering battle, and there will be another clear factor in play as this will be a thrilling rematch of the epic 2023 World Cup quarter-final at the same venue, and which saw the Springboks edge a one-point win.
This will also be a crucial fixture for both teams as they look to keep pushing towards the Nations Championship finals weekend, with this weekend serving as the penultimate round of ‘group’ matches.
On the southern hemisphere table, the Springboks and All Blacks are deadlocked on 20 points, but it’s New Zealand who face a far easier fixture this weekend as they tackle Wales, and a bonus-point victory is almost certainly guaranteed.
In order to keep pace, the Springboks will know that they need to claim victory at the Stade de France, especially considering there is another challenging clash against Ireland next weekend.
An epic clash is in store. Kick off is at 22:10 (SA time).
KEEP TRACK OF THE SPRINGBOKS’ LIVE SCORING AGAINST FRANCE
MATCH INFORMATION
France: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Antoine Dupont, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 François Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Axel Desperes, 23 Emilien Gailleton.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.
Date: Friday, November 13
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Record against France:
Played 47; Won 29; Lost 12; Drawn 6. Points for: 1026, Points against: 737. Tries scored 115, Tries conceded 66. Highest score 52-10; Biggest win 42 points. Win % 61,7%.
Miscellaneous:
