Before facing South Africa on Sunday (9 p.m.) in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, French second row Cameron Woki spoke about the challenge awaiting the Blues. “There’s a lot of excitement, obviously. We are where we want to be. The week went as usual. We trained the same way. In the heads, the preparation is different. It’s a high-stakes match. Either we pass or we go home, he reminds us. These are matches that we want to play, whether for club or national team. We do this sport for that, for these kinds of emotions and these kinds of issues.”
And to say: “We were rather calm this week. We got closer, we talked a lot about the conquest which will be a more important phase of the game tomorrow. There were quite a few smiles in and out of training. We take advantage of these moments. We remain humans. You have to make the most of every moment.”
The Racing 92 player is aware of the enormous physical challenge that the Boks will offer. “I expect a very tough and physical match against a second line who has a lot of playing time together. They are physically strong. In Marseille (victory for the Blues last November), we were able to respond to the challenges they offered us, he underlines. This is a match with enormous stakes. We have to respond to the physical challenge facing a second line that complements each other and has played a lot together.” But the French XV will be able to count on the support of its supporters at the Stade de France: “We need it, we need the public who push us and who have always pushed us. It’s a plus for us. And in addition to playing a World Cup in France. We will need the public for tomorrow’s match. It’s going to be the 16th man who will push us.”
Against the South Africans, the touchline will be a predominant sector. A sector that Cameron Woki masters perfectly. “We analyze a lot. We know that it is the team which blocked the most balls in the competition, he recalls. But there are always alternatives. We can’t block everywhere, on the sidelines. There are bound to be ways out. We will try to look for these solutions, not to do complicated things.” And added: “The objective is to have our balls offensively and to hinder them as much as possible defensively. I hope things go well in terms of conquest. We worked a lot on this. Facing us, we have a big challenge on the sidelines. These are fun matches for me to face the best possible lineups. It allows me to progress and highlight our effectiveness.”
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