Du Pont’s return adds to Boks/ France quarter-final intensity

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France says it will be up to their captain Antoine Du Pont to have the final say on whether he will face the Springboks in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup in Paris on Sunday evening. The mercurial scrum half has been medically cleared to return to practice after a cheekbone fracture and that gives this feisty clash an extra dimension and adds to the emotion. The defending champion Springboks are taking it all in their stride as they prepare for the first knock-out round of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The Springboks have been quietly going about their business in this World Cup for a month. Apart from that blockbuster match against Ireland in Paris, the Boks have largely stuck to their base in the south of France.

That all ends this week, as the Green and Gold is thrust into the World Cup spotlight, as the opponents for Les Bleus in the quarterfinals. Bok Assistant coach, Deon David says the atmosphere will be charged, but it is something this team has being preparing for.

“We can expect that playing here against the home team, it is going to be a massive atmosphere I think we had a dry run of that last year in Marseille. It was an absolutely fantastic atmosphere, I think the players also experienced the same type of environment in 2019 against Japan so something that a lot of these players are used to,” says Davids.

Add to the mix the possible inclusion of Antoine Du Pont, and the Stade Francais will be a cauldron of Gaelic emotion. Springbok scrumhalf, Faf De Klerk definitely wants to play against the best in the world but was quick to point out that the French team is not just about Du Pont.

“It is great for France to have him back I think he is a great asset for them, for me personally it is always good to play against one of the best in the world but we are preparing to play against France and not just against him although he is a very dangerous player and we know where the threats lie in that. We are just basically focusing on playing against France and the challenges that that brings along with it,” says De Klerk.

The Springboks much heralded game plan revolving around the maul has evolved since the 2019 World Cup. It is something lock forward RG Snyman says the team continues to work on, particularly the forward pack.

“It’s actually small details or really basic things that we have all started being sharper on and just spend more time working on so even as a pack of forwards we are working on little details like our passing skills and catching skills you know stuff that forwards probably don’t work on all that much,” says Snyman.

It has been a very measured approach up to this point for the Springboks, using matches to get what they need out of them and not necessarily focus on the score line. That all ends this Sunday, the score line is everything and there are no second chances.