Springbok No 8 Jasper Wiese believes Saturday’s showdown against France at the Stade de France will come down to the forwards.
It is a rematch of the famous 2023 World Cup quarter-final at the same venue, where the Boks edged the hosts 29-28.
Les Bleus, still hurting from that defeat, will be out for revenge – though they are missing several key players, including captain Antoine Dupont, with Maxime Lucu expected to wear the No 9 jersey.
Wiese, who has started the Boks’ last four matches at No 8 since returning from suspension, said the forwards would again set the tone in Paris.
“Of course, it’s going to be a big battle up front,” he said. “France have 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 who.”
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The Bok bruiser added that stopping French momentum would be key to giving the backs a platform to strike from.
“They’ve got big boys who will try to bully you, and then there’s the flair in their backline – guys like [winger] 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.”
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Wiese knows just how intense the contest can be between these sides, having watched the World Cup quarter-final from the stands.
“I wasn’t fortunate enough to play, but I remember how loud it was – the atmosphere was unbelievable,” he said.
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“France started well and scored early, but we stuck to our plan and the forwards worked their way into the game.
“Those of us on the sidelines were sitting with the coaches, trying to make suggestions, and we could see there were massive moments that shifted things for us. In the end, it was a huge win.”
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Wiese expects France to be fuelled by emotion on Saturday.
“You can see they still have a lot of hurt from that night. They’ve said this game is about revenge, and we know they’ll come out fired up.
“If there’s one game we have to be ready for, it’s this one.”
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