Mzwandile Stick: Springboks have to be as good as we were in 2023 in Paris to beat France

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says that for Saturday night’s epic encounter with France, the Boks will have to play as well as they did two years ago in Paris, when they knocked the home team out of the World Cup.

That 2023 quarter-final was one of the finest spectacles the game has seen, with the Boks prevailing 29–28 after 80 minutes of high drama.

“We have to be at our very best if we are to beat France on Saturday night,” Stick said. “I always say to people, when I look back to the 2023 quarter-final, if we had not been at our best, France could have given us 40 points, but we pitched up for that game.

“We knew what was coming that day in front of their home crowd, and we expect the same on Saturday night,” Stick warned. “It is going to be a tough one, but we have the right squad to handle this game.

“If you look at our backline, the only difference from our backline that played in 2023 is that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is starting at 10. Manie Libbok started that France game (with Handré Pollard coming on).”

Libbok will be on the bench, as coach Rassie Erasmus gives an indication that the Boks will attack to win.

The French also have most of their backline from that quarter-final, with the notable exception of flyhalf Romain Ntamack. He was injured just before the World Cup, and Matthieu Jalibert played at 10.

“Ntamack is a world-class player and I know how they missed him in 2023,” Stick said. “But if you look at the players around the fly-half (whoever it is), they are world-class

"Thomas Ramos is an exceptional fullback, and both wings are deadly finishers in Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. They are very dangerous players, and if you give them time and space, they will punish you.

“We know the nature of how the French team will play. They will try to keep the ball in play and keep the tempo high.

“We will do our best to keep our people proud at home,” Stick concluded. “We know that most South Africans will be focusing on this game, and we want to do it for them. We know it is going to be late (10.10pm kick-off), but they must know that we will do our best for them.”