While Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has fuelled friction with the French after running down the standard of northern hemisphere rugby, lock Danie Rossouw was saying the opposite.

The 32-year-old Bulls second rower, who will earn his 48th Test cap at the weekend, expressed his grudging admiration for the way the French approach the game.

"Last year's Test against them [in Toulouse] was one of the most physical games I've been involved in," Rossouw said.

"We have analysed them and they play exactly the same type of game that we do - very physical and direct. We must do the best we can and focus on our game."

De Villiers questioned the speed of the northern hemisphere game earlier in the week and suggested that overseas-based Springboks were not playing at the same level as their counterparts involved in the Super 14.

It's a dangerous comment considering the French have beaten the Springboks the last three times they have met, and certainly a view that some players don't share.

Toulon-based Joe van Niekerk, who played No8 for the Boks against Wales in Cardiff last Saturday, was another player who viewed it differently to the coach.

"I've played Currie Cup, Super Rugby and [French] Top 14 rugby and I can honestly say that the Top 14 compares more than favourably with those competitions," Van Niekerk said.

"After all, France are the Six Nations and grand slam champions and Toulouse won yet another Heineken Cup title this season. They must be doing something right in the Top 14."

Rossouw will have another chance to stake a permanent claim to the No4 jersey against France at Newlands while regular starter Bakkies Botha serves out the last of a four-week ban for foul play.

Botha missed 13 weeks of the Super 14 following an ankle surgery and Rossouw made the Bulls second row spot his own.

Botha could struggle to regain his place in the team after Rossouw produced another excellent display that earned him the man-of-the-match award against Wales during the Boks 34-31 win.

If he plays a pivotal role in a Bok victory against France on Saturday, De Villiers will be hard-pressed to drop him for the discipline-challenged Botha.