France flanker Francois Cros said his team lost the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the Springboks before the game even started.
France face South Africa again in Paris on Friday night. Cros said the French did not prepare hard enough for the physical battle in 2023, IOL Sport reported.
“Looking back at the 2023 World Cup quarter-final, we didn’t lose it on the field; we lost it before kick-off. Preparation was too long; we didn’t go hard enough,” Cros said.
He said he saw photos of the Springboks’ tough gym sessions before that tournament. That was when he noticed how differently the two teams had prepared.
“When we played South Africa, we were equally as good, if not better, in terms of individual skill, but physically they were way better than us and it showed in the final result,” he said.
South Africa won that quarter-final 29-28. Last November, the Springboks beat France again, this time by 32-17.
Friday’s match will be played at the Stade de France. Cros said France must match the Springboks’ physical power to have a chance of winning.
“The physicality is going to hurt, that’s for sure. But when you love combat sports, you love facing the best. It can be a little unsettling, but we all want to test ourselves and show what we’re capable of,” he said.
“If we want to compete on Friday night, we’ll have to match the Springboks physically because that’s what they build their victories on. If we’re not up to the challenge in that area, it’s going to be a very difficult match,” Cros added.
The flanker said France must get the basics right first. Only then can the team play its more creative attacking rugby.
“We have to get our priorities right, and once we’ve done that, we’ll have opportunities to express ourselves more creatively,” he said.
Cros said the Springbok scrum will be one of the biggest tests. He said all eight South African forwards push together in every scrum to get on top of their opponents.
“It will be a key aspect of the match, and it’s an area where we struggled at the World Cup in 2023. We’ve been working on it since the start of our training camp to make sure we’re competitive. Every player will have to give a little extra,” he said.
France played Fiji in a warm-up match the week before. The team has since trained behind closed doors to get ready for the Springboks.
Cros said people did not give enough credit to how hard the Fiji game was. “The match against Fiji was tough, the physical exchanges were intense, and we then had only six days to prepare for the Springboks,” he said.
He said France focused on recovery early in the week. Tuesday was the team’s only training day before the Test.
“We preferred to work in the best possible conditions. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to be in your own little bubble,” Cros said.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.