“Is this the most important game of my tenure? The past is in memories. I am focused on the upcoming meeting, against this opponent… They are world champions. It’s a team that inspired us a lot, we followed them a lot to understand their vision, their commitment. They carry within them the symbol of a country that we love. I lived there, I learned a lot. Playing against this team in Paris is something magnificent. The challenge is simply to play rugby with pleasure, as a team, with ambition. We want to take on this challenge.”
“We’re always nervous… It would be a lie to say that we don’t feel tension. This is what makes these moments so special, they are rare moments. But we try to live them well and move forward with a lot of joy, pleasure, happiness, and determination too.”
“Tactically, we are not going to get too far ahead, we are going to keep what we have prepared for Sunday’s match. Benching Sekou Makalou? This is to have, depending on the scenario, different levers. We want to maintain power, speed, impact and be present in aerial duels. We have players starting who can allow us to cover different options.
“Have we adapted? To know South Africa and their staff well, we know that they have a very sharp and thoughtful tactical approach. They always have a very studied plan in relation to the adversary. It’s never a coincidence. They know us very well. Their choice to align a rather particular composition (with a Reinach-Libbok and Vermeulen hinge in 8) and to place a bench in 5-3, it is well-founded, it is thoughtful. It will be a real game of chess. We thought about what they could offer us. The strategy is pushed to its climax.”
“I played for them in 1995 (at False Bay RFC, near Cape Town, Editor’s note). I know them well. I think they always adapt. They claim their strengths, but they always adapt to be tactically fair. I also know their staff very well (notably Erasmus and Nienaber, who coached Munster in Ireland, Editor’s note). It is no coincidence that this team performs the way it performs. It’s very intelligent, very tactical. We’re in the world of strategy, and that’s not to displease us.”
Comments collected at a press conference
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