Hot on the heels of relentless tackling eliminating the world’s best attacking team, France have waved a red flag in front of the charging Springboks by claiming to be the masters of defence.
The claim comes as the All Blacks withstood Ireland’s late onslaught of almost 40 phases of attack to knock out one of the tournament favourites at the quarter-final stage on Saturday night.
Under Jacques Nienaber, the Springboks have been seen as the standard of excellence on defence. It was Nienaber’s defensive masterplan that helped the Boks defeat England to win the World Cup in 2019.
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However, ahead of Sunday night’s quarter-final clash in Paris, centre Gael Fickou made the audacious claim that his France team have surpassed South Africa as the true kings of tackling.
“They will be keen to bring in a lot of speed,” Fickou said of the Bok halfback combination of Cobus Reinach and Manie Libbok. “They want to speed up the game and make things difficult for us.
“But we are the best defensive team at the moment. Against South Africa, the physical battle will be immense.”
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Fickou’s teammate, loose forward Charles Ollivon, said France know what to expect from the Boks.
“We know the South African style,” said Ollivon, who played alongside Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth at Toulon.
“They are good at putting a physical stamp on their opponents. They will stay true to themselves.”
Photo: Christophe SIMON / AFP