France v South Africa – Rugby World Cup Match Preview

The three-time champions lock horns with the tournament favourites at the Stade de France this Sunday in what is arguably the most highly-anticipated World Cup quarter-final match.

The hosts France go into the match as slight favourites. They were near-flawless during the pool stage. Following an impressive 27-13 win over three-time champions New Zealand, Les Bleues swept aside Namibia and Italy 96-0 and 60-7 respectively. Their one minor blip was a cagey 27-12 victory over minnows Uruguay. One could forgive the French, however, as head coach Fabien Galthié made 12 changes to his starting XV that day.

The French will also be relieved by the return of their star man Antoine Dupont to training, following the broken cheekbone he suffered in his side’s 96-0 victory over Namibia. The scrum-half is highly regarded as one of the greatest players in the world right now so his restoration to the starting XV will greatly bolster an already-impressive French team.

France have never won the World Cup but have reached the final on three occasions. The hosts will look at this tournament as their best opportunity in a while to get their hands on the Webb Ellis Cup.

Their opponents South Africa know what it takes to win a World Cup, having done so on three occasions. Furthermore, the Springboks have failed to get past the quarter-final stage on just two occasions.

South Africa qualified for the knockout stage in rather comfortable fashion; beating Scotland 18-3, before seeing off Romania 76-0 and Tonga 49-18. Their sole loss came at the hands of the current World Number One ranked side Ireland in a tightly contested 13-8 defeat.

Team News

The aforementioned Antoine Dupont returns to training following facial surgery. The French, however, will be without hooker Julien Marchand who continues to recover from his hamstring injury.

South Africa face a selection headache. Handre Pollard looks to dislodge team-mate Mannie Libbok as the Springbok’s kicker. Faf de Klerk could also be considered to join one of them in the half-back combination.