Springbok No 8 Jasper Wiese believes Saturday’s rematch of the famous 2023 World Cup quarter-final at the same venue, where the Boks edged the hosts 29-28, will be a grudge match with the forwards eventually deciding the winners.
“Of course, it’s going to be a big battle up front. France has made a statement over the last few years with how physical and big they are, and it’s going to be the same again on Saturday.”
“Two big packs are going to collide, and it will come down to who dominates whom.”
“They’ve got big boys who will try to bully you, and then there’s the flair in their backline, guys like Damian Penaud and their centres, all brilliant players. Even without DuPont, Lucu is a quality nine.”
“So for us forwards, it’s about stopping their go-forward and getting up for the fight. The backs have their own role, to shut down that flair and turn pressure back on them.”
“The French are hurt; they are going to come for us. We know it. So it’s how we react to it, is going to be important. I think they were hurt after that game.
“As you can see, they are coming out and saying it is for revenge. It’s going to be a good challenge. I think we can expect that they will be up for this game,” Wiese said.
Wiese, who watched the match in 2023 from the stands, said, “I wasn’t fortunate enough to play, but I was in the stands, and I just remember the crowd was very loud.”
“They started well, they scored in the third or fourth minute. But we stuck to our guns, and we knew what the plan was going to be.”
“I think the forwards came more into the game. We, the guys that weren’t playing, sat in the stands and tried to make plans, telling them what we thought they should do.”
“There were massive moments in the game that shifted it for us. And in the end, it was a very, very big win for us.”