Eleven players in the team that Rassie Erasmus announced participated in the Boks’ narrow RWC quarter-final victory over Les Bleus at the same venue two years ago. Etzebeth, Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Snyman, Reinach, Arendse, Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Willemse, and Libbok, while 12 players featured in the match in Marseille in 2022, which includes Marx, who was ruled out early in the RWC campaign due to a knee injury.
“We always planned to make a few changes for this match, and we’ll continue to rotate the players throughout the tour, so we can give as many players as possible a chance while at the same time trying to achieve our objectives on the field,” said Erasmus.
“This, however, is the team we feel is best suited to what we expect from France, and the way we would like to play this weekend. Many of them have also faced France in 2022 and 2023, so they know what to expect from the hosts and have also had a taste of what it is to play in front of their passionate home crowd.”
Commenting on Kolisi playing in his 100th Test, Erasmus said: “This is a huge milestone for Siya and we are all delighted for him. He is a level-headed player and although this will be a big occasion for him, and a match that we would like to make special for him, he is fully focused on the task at hand, so he won’t allow that to overshadow what he must do on the field.
“This is a huge game, and the entire team knows how determined France will be to make up for the World Cup result, so we’ll celebrate Siya’s achievement after the match. That said, hopefully we can make it a memorable game for him.”
With the narrative in the French media and from the France camp being on revenge for what happened in 2023, Erasmus said they were preparing for the match as they do for every other Test and that they had to be on point on Saturday to get the desired result.
“France has a quality team all around, with good forwards and backs, and they are a side that plays for the full 80 minutes,” said Erasmus.
“They will also have a fanatical home crowd behind them, which will inspire them immensely, so we are fully aware of the magnitude of this match, and we know what we have to do on the field.
“The game against Japan certainly helped in getting some of the players back into Test-match mode, and hopefully that will set us in good stead going into this game.
“The key for us is that we have to be accurate in everything we do, make the most of the chances we create, and to keep fighting from the first whistle until the hooter sounds because there is no doubt it’s going to be another epic battle between the teams.”
