Cornered France will aim to slow it down against Boks in Durban
Image: MARCO LONGARI / AFP
It’s obvious that France were always targeting the second Test in Durban with the realistic objective of putting the Springboks under pressure rather than the mere hope of the first one.
At Loftus last week‚ eight players from leading French clubs Clermont and Toulon were not considered because of the Top 14 final six days prior.
Coach Guy Noves only arrived in SA four days before the first Test and preparation was left to assistant Yannick Bru.
France hoped that their speedy‚ lighter‚ more athletic pack in the first Test would cause some trouble for SA. In the end they were outplayed in key moments.
Their halfback pair of Maxine Machenaud and Jules Plisson also played as if they knew that they wouldn’t start the second Test barring a huge upset.
Noves has picked a much more confrontational pack to niggle the Boks and try and lure them out of playing a looser game that we saw at Loftus.
The Bok back row has good athletes in Warren Whiteley‚ Oupa Mohoje and Siya Kolisi‚ but there is a nagging suspicion that if the match descends into an arm-wrestle‚ the likes of French No 8 Louis Picamoles will have a big influence on the outcome.
Last week the powerful Picamoles was asked to play a looser‚ higher-paced game to suit the squad selections‚ and as a result was uncomfortable and virtually anonymous. Noves won’t squander using his best blunt weapon more effectively this week.
Similarly captain and hooker Guilhem Guirado‚ prop Rabah Slimani and lock Romain Taofifenua will all add grunt to the French pack.
They tried to outpace the Boks last week and came up well short‚ losing 37-14‚ so a logical assumption based on the team they’ve picked is that they will go the other way this week.
It will be about winning the physical battle‚ keeping play tighter and delivering a better tactical kicking performance‚ hoping to pin the Boks back.
This is an SA team who showed they want to play attacking rugby‚ and if France can put the squeeze on the Bok pack‚ the hosts might come unstuck if they attempt to throw the ball around without a solid platform.
Outside of the four changes in the pack‚ the most significant change is at halfback where Baptiste Serin’s lively scrumhalf play and the experience of flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc will ask more questions of the Boks.
Former Bok coach Jake White‚ who spent two seasons coaching Montpellier‚ likened Serin to the late Joost van der Westhuizen. The French scrumhalf showed those attacking tendencies with a sniping try at Loftus and will surely be looking to attack the Boks around the fringes this week.
Trinh-Duc will offer a steadier head at pivot while the sea-level factor in Durban will also assist the tourists.
Brilliant 20-year-old centre Damian Penaud earns a first test cap. Son of former French playmaker Alain‚ who toured SA in 1993‚ he has been brilliant for Clermont.
France still start as underdogs‚ but the Boks will know they are up against a better unit this week. And like South Africans‚ backed into a corner‚ the French are dangerous fighters.
- TimesLIVE