Former Springbok coach Jake White believes France will be fuelled by raw emotion and revenge when they face the world champions in Paris on Saturday.
Writing in his latest RugbyPass column, White said the pain of the 2023 World Cup quarter-final defeat to the Springboks still burns deeply in French hearts.
“The Stade de France will bring back all the emotions for the home team. I will never forget Antoine Dupont’s thousand-yard stare at the end of that game,” White recalled.
“The dream had died in the most excruciating fashion, with bodies clad in blue strewn over the patchwork green quilt of a pitch, while the Boks, exhausted, raised their hands aloft.”
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White says the French would be desperate to prove they can still challenge the Boks.
“This is the first time they will get the band back together again, deploying the men who thought they could win a home World Cup. They will be fired up in the dressing room saying, ‘not on our watch again’,” he wrote.
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“France can get a serious psychological boost by beating the world champions. For France, even more than the Springboks, this is make or break in terms of where they’re going to be in two years [at the 2027 World Cup].”
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He also suggested that the coaching duel between Rassie Erasmus and Fabien Galthié could add an intriguing layer of tactical mind games before kick-off.
“I’ll be interested to see if there are any barbs before the game between Rassie and Fabien,” he noted. “They are the two most experienced coaches in the Autumn Nations Series and they will try and wind each other up.”
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
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