A wound that has not healed
South Africa travel to Paris expecting an angry opponent. Speaking to the media on Tuesday ahead of Friday’s Nations Championship clash at the Stade de France, Springboks assistant coach Felix Jones said he believes France still carry the hurt of the 2023 World Cup quarter-final.
The Boks won that night 29-28 and went on to lift the trophy. They returned to Paris late last year and won far more comfortably, 32-7. Jones thinks that does not erase the memory. In his words, the game was “such a significant game” that the feeling does not simply go away, though he expects most of the niggle to stay on the pitch.
Jones also stressed the respect off the field. He recalled that Fabien Galthié and team manager Raphaël Ibañez visited him, Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber during their Munster days, one of the first relationships he built with coaches outside Ireland.
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Marx talks about the scar
Hooker Malcolm Marx, who missed most of the 2023 tournament through serious injury, went a step further. He said France felt they should have reached that World Cup final, and that a few narrow defeats to South Africa leave a mark. His message was that the Boks can only control their own preparation.
Marx also brushed off talk that he is a marked man after being named World Rugby and SA Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year for 2025. He insisted nobody in the squad gets special treatment and that last year’s form guarantees nothing this week.
Expecting kicks from the unknown
Tactically, Jones expects surprises. France stretched South Africa last year with attacking kicks into the space behind the defence, and he is preparing for new wrinkles, possibly through the boot again. The Boks arrive off a 66-7 demolition of Italy in Turin, while France will have Antoine Dupont back in the mix.
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