‘It’s always intense,’ says Erasmus ahead of colossal Springboks v France match

"Matches between us and France are always intense, and this week will be no different." A hard-fought battle has been predicted when the Springboks and France collide in their Nations Championship end-of-year-tour match at the Stade de France in Saint Denis on Friday night (kick-off 10.10pm). The Boks and France have struck up a thrilling rivalry over the years, and another close tussle is expected between the two sides, who will both be desperate for a win to keep them on track of qualifying for the main game of the Nations Championship Finals Weekend at the end of the month. Boths teams top their respective hemisphere logs, with the Boks enjoying a perfect four wins out of four over their Northern Hemisphere challengers to top the south section, while France have won three out of four against their Southern Hemisphere opposition to sit top of the north section. But both have teams on their tails, with the All Blacks level on points with the Boks but behind on points difference, while England and Ireland are two points behind the French, so a loss for either could see them slip down the standings. France will also be eager to bounce back from a poor performance last year that saw them crash to a 32-17 home loss against the Boks, who also had a permanent first half red card, and played with 14 men for the majority of the match. But the four games between the sides before that, all played in France, were decided by four points or less, with the Boks winning three of them. Springbok dominance In 2017 the Boks triumphed 18-17 and in 2018 it was 29-26, with both matches played in Saint Denis, before a change of venue did the trick for the hosts as they came out on top 30-26 in Marseille in 2022. But the Boks then emerged victorious in the big one, the 2023 World Cup quarter-final in Saint Denis where they clinched a breathless 29-28 win, before last year’s blowout proved a bit of an aberration. “Matches between us and France are always intense, and this week will be no different. Both teams have everything to play for, with France leading the northern hemisphere standings and the team being ranked fourth in the world,” said Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus at the Bok team announcement on Monday. “We are in a similar situation trying to hold onto the top spot in the respective Nations Championship hemisphere tables, so this match is vital for both sides to try to advance to the final of the competition in a few weeks. “They also always have a passionate crowd behind them that will definitely fuel their team, but we also enjoy the atmosphere at Stade de France, so neither team will give an inch. “Our focus though is on what we want to do as a team, so it will be vital to execute our game plan accurately and make the most of the point-scoring chances we create. They have a good pack of forwards and dangerous backs, so we need to be at our best to get the desired result.”