South African coach Rassie Erasmus has revealed his starting line-up for the match against the Blues at the Stade de France on Saturday. Captain Siya Kolisi will honor his 100th selection on this occasion.
According to Fabien Galthié, the 2025 South African team is
“perhaps the best team that ever existed”. It is indeed an impressive team that Rassie Erasmus (who will manage his 50th match) will line up this Saturday at the Stade de France, with no less than eleven players present on the scoresheet who were also there during the quarter-final of the 2023 World Cup.
Among them, third row Siya Kolisi (34 years old), who will honor his 100th selection against the Blues. Another
“centurion” will be on the pitch: second row Eben Etzebeth (34 years old), who will wear the Springbok jersey for the 139th time. Cheslin Kolbe, who did so much harm to the French two years ago, will also start on Saturday.
Six changes to the Boks
In total, the coach made six changes to his team, compared to the one that beat Japan 61-7 in London last week. “ We will continue to rotate players throughout the Tour, to give as many players a chance as possible while trying to achieve our goals on the field, Erasmus said. However, this is the team that we feel is best suited to what we expect from France and how we want to play this weekend. Many of these players have already faced France in 2022 (the Blues’ 30-26 victory in Marseille) and 2023; they therefore know what to expect from the hosts and have already tasted the excited atmosphere of their audience. »
Erasmus: “ We are fully aware of the importance of this match”
If Fabien Galthié is extremely wary of the Springboks, his counterpart was also full of praise for the Blues: “It’s a crucial match, and the whole team knows how determined France will be to take revenge after the World Cup. France have a high quality team at all levels, with good attackers and defenders, and they are a team that plays for the full 80 minutes. IThey will also have the support of a fanatical local audience, which will inspire them enormously. We are therefore fully aware of the importance of this match and we know what we have to do on the pitch. » This poster promises a lot!
The South African XV: Willems – Crising, Criel, the Allending, Arendish – sister Feanberg-Mngome, Reinach – Wise, P.-S. you Toit, Kolisi (cap) – the Year, Etzebeth – T.du Toit, Marx, Venter
The replacements: Grobbelaar, Steenekamp, Louw, Snyman, Nortje, Esterhuizen, Williams, Libbok
