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Cape Town - The Springboks and France will both be desperate for a win at Stade de France on Saturday according to Springboks captain, Siya Kolisi, who admits that his side is determined to return to winning ways following two close defeats against the All Blacks and England in their previous matches.
“We don’t want to dwell in the past, but we feel that we lost the game last week (against England at Twickenham) because of our lack of execution. We feel like we lost it to ourselves, and this week it’s about making sure we play with the same intensity and purpose, but obviously with better finishing,” explained Kolisi.
“I’ve played a couple of times against the French and every game against them have been really tough..
“They now have a new team and will be fresh, plus they’re welcoming back a few players who’ve returned from injuries. So we are looking forward to another strong challenge, especially from their big physical pack of forwards.
“They scrum and maul very well and we will have to make sure that our set pieces are very good. And they also have some good game breakers who can create something out nothing, so our defence must be good.”
Despite the two close results against the All Blacks and England, the Springboks are on track with their planning and progress, says Kolisi.
“It’s really tough to lose by one point but I think we are improving and heading in the right direction. We can see what is working and we know we have execute better and get those wins.”
The match kicks off at 22:05 (SA time).
Teams:
France
15 Maxime Medard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Damian Penaud, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Arthur Iturria, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Substitutes: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Gael Fickou
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Cheslin Kolbe
