A shock at the top for Fabien Galthié’s Blues. France, after its inaugural success against New Zealand (27-13), finished at the top of Pool A and will therefore cross the road, next Sunday (9 p.m.) at the Stade de France, from South Africa, second in group B after its setback against Ireland (8-13). A real shock between two contenders for the world title.
Before this match, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus increased the pressure as usual. First, by announcing that he was going to wait until the last moment to announce his team composition, when he generally did so at the start of the week. Then insinuating that the Blues were experts at signaling a high tackle to the referee.
“What the French do well is that when there is a high tackle situation, they show it to the referee,” declared the South African technician at a press conference. I think they fake it a little sometimes, which is smart. In certain situations, the referee will use video, and that’s where the French are smart.” A little bit of pressure put on the referee of this quarter-final, the New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe.
The reunion promises to be explosive: last November, France defeated the Boks (30-26) at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. During this match, both teams received a red card. Peter-Steph Du Toit was sent off for a dangerous clearance on Jonathan Danty and Antoine Dupont had to leave his partners after a foul in the air on Cheslin Kolbe.
“We got this red card, but they also got one a little later,” remembers Rassie Erasmus. The fact that we managed to stay in the match until three or four minutes from the end helped us for Sunday, or at least I hope it will help us. We have a lot of players (in the current team) who were there for this match. I have to say that, in my entire career as a player and coach, this is one of the most intense and pleasant situations I have experienced, and I am sure it will be the same on Sunday.
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