Springboks vs France: Kick off time, teams and officials
· The South African
The Springboks and France will kick off round five of the Nations Championship on Friday in what is undoubtedly the pick of this weekend’s fixtures.
Rassie Erasmus has made just two changes to his match-23, which sees Wilco Louw move into the starting team, and Cobus Reinach being drafted onto the bench.
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Meanwhile, the headline selection for France saw coach Fabien Galthié opt to hand regular scrumhalf Antoine Dupont a start at flyhalf in order to contend with an injury crisis in that position.
The Test kicks off at 22:10 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
MATCH INFORMATION ON THE EVE OF KICK OFF BETWEEN THE SPRINGBOKS AND FRANCE
France: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Antoine Dupont, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 François Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Axel Desperes, 23 Emilien Gailleton.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.
Date: Friday, November 13
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Record against France:
Played 47; Won 29; Lost 12; Drawn 6. Points for: 1026, Points against: 737. Tries scored 115, Tries conceded 66. Highest score 52-10; Biggest win 42 points. Win % 61,7%.
Miscellaneous:
- The average caps per player in the backline is 49, the forwards 69, while the players on the bench average 34.
- Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx will both enter the match with 95 Test caps to their name, meaning they require only four more Test appearances after this weekend to join the exclusive club of Springbok centurions.
- Ten players in the matchday squad played in the RWC quarter-final against France in 2023, while 16 players were involved in the match-up between the team’s last season.
- The Springboks have won the last five matches between the teams in Paris, dating back to 2013. Les Bleus last won a match against the Boks in the French capital in 2005.
- Siya Kolisi will lead the Springboks for the 77th time when he takes the field. In his last match against France, he earned the significant milestone of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in history.
- The total Test caps in the Springbok starting line-up are 896. There are 344 caps in the backline, with 552 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 269 caps.
ALL NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES THIS WEEKEND
DateMatchKick off time (SAST)VenueFriday, 13 NovFrance vs South Africa22:10Stade de France, ParisSaturday, 14 NovItaly vs Argentina13:40Stadio Luigi Ferraris, GenoaSaturday, 14 NovWales vs New Zealand16:10Principality Stadium, CardiffSaturday, 14 NovEngland vs Japan18:40Allianz Stadium, LondonSaturday, 14 NovIreland vs Fiji22:10Aviva Stadium, DublinSunday, 15 NovScotland vs Australia17:10Scottish Gas Murrayfield, EdinburghWhen looking at the standings after four rounds of the Nations Championship, the Springboks and All Blacks remain deadlocked on 20 points on the southern hemisphere table, while France lead the way for the northern teams, two points ahead of England and Ireland.