The quarter-final of the 2023 World Cup between France and South Africa continues to be talked about.
The XV of France did not take its revenge. On November 8 at the Stade de France, the Blues once again faced the Springboks as part of the autumn tour. Defeated by South Africa during the last World Cup, Fabien Galthié’s men did not reverse the trend and lost 32-17, despite numerical superiority.
This meeting revived the painful memory of October 15, 2023, when Antoine Dupont and his teammates were eliminated in the quarter-finals of their World Cup organized in France, beaten by one point by the Springboks (29-28). This match was marked by contested refereeing decisions, but especially by Cheslin Kolbe’s famous counter against Thomas Ramos.
This Friday, November 28, one of the South African players in this quarter-final returned to this confrontation with
Olympic Midday. The pillar Steven Kitshoff, with his 83 selections, evokes “the biggest duel of the competition”. “The emotion was immense and the effort deployed was intense”he confides.
“They always mention the referee”
Kitshoff also returned to the controversies linked to arbitration. “I know that when the French talk about this match, they always talk about the referee, talk about a theft. But these things happen, it’s rugby. It was just a brilliant game and we were lucky to win it. The Blues could have won it too”he explains.
The South African adds: “If Cheslin Kolbe had not succeeded in his counterattack and Ramos had converted, the story would have been different. In the end, we knew we had been lucky. Several elements worked in our favor…” That year, the Springboks continued on their way to winning their fourth world title, after 1995, 2007 and 2019.
