France prop Reda Wardi at a media briefing on Monday, 25 September 2023 said he was not surprised by the Springboks gameplan or Ireland's reaction.
"I wasn’t surprised by the South Africans and by the reaction of the Irish. With La Rochelle, we’re used to playing against Leinster, a club with many international players. This team never gives up. The South Africans are warriors, as we all know. Both teams showed that they are big nations of the international rugby."
Wardi said they expect the Springboks to bring a lot of physicality in a possible quarter-final clash: "We know they have a huge forward pack. When they go for a seven-one bench split, you can expect that they want to bring physicality. They are high-level rugby players but not supermen."
"When you go for a six-two split, you can be more aggressive in the scrums, the lineouts, the mauls. It can be a good idea to have a five-three split to bring some fresh legs and add some pace. But hey, I’m not an expert tactician, it’s just how I see things.
"As a front-rower, it’s not a big deal since there’s always a full replacement front row on the bench. The ones who can benefit from it [a six-two split] are the second and back rows.”