Intimidating French, Irish cauldrons will test Springboks, says Rassie Erasmus
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South Africa's Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scores a try against Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JOHANNESBURG – South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus has singled out Tests against France and Ireland as the most “challenging” during a five-international tour of Europe in November.
The record four-time Rugby World Cup winners arrive in London this weekend to prepare for the first match, against Japan at Wembley Stadium on Nov 1.
Then, on consecutive Saturdays, the Siya Kolisi-captained Springboks face France in Paris, Italy in Turin, Ireland in Dublin and Wales in Cardiff.
France want to avenge a one-point World Cup quarter-final loss to eventual champions South Africa in 2023 after an epic encounter.
Ireland have won the last three Tests against South Africa in Dublin, including inflicting a humiliating 35-point defeat on the tourists in 2017.
“The matches against the French and Irish will be like World Cup knockout games,” Erasmus told reporters before the squad left Johannesburg.
“We will see how our players adapt to playing high-pressure Tests in the intimidating cauldrons of Paris and Dublin.”
Erasmus also said the tour is one of the most demanding undertaken by the Springboks for many seasons – in 2024, they played only three Tests in November.
They beat Scotland, England and Wales in 2024, and expectations are high among millions of Springbok supporters that the team can complete another clean sweep.
A vote in a South African rugby magazine showed 46 per cent of respondents believed South Africa would win all five internationals and 42 per cent felt the tourists would win four.
“I am calling this a challenging tour because of the quality of the opposition we are going to face,” said Erasmus, a key figure in the coaching teams that won the 2019 and 2023 World Cup tournaments.
“Ireland and France are currently ranked third and fourth in the world behind us and New Zealand, and while the other Tests might seem easier on paper, you dare not write off any opponent.
“The Irish and French are always tough rivals and both won four of five Six Nations championship matches this year. Beating them in Dublin and Paris will be huge challenges.”
South Africa travel to Europe having won seven of nine Tests in 2025.
The highlight was a 43-10 victory over New Zealand in Wellington and the lowlight a 38-22 defeat by Australia in Johannesburg.
The Springboks pipped greatest rivals the All Blacks on points difference to win back-to-back Rugby Championship titles
“We delivered a few good performances, but also a few disappointing ones,” added the 52-year-old Erasmus.
“Now I want to build consistency on the tour.”
Japan, meanwhile, went down 19-15 despite a rousing comeback against a scrappy Australia in Tokyo on Oct 25.
The Wallabies held on after a nerve-jangling finale to set themselves up for their four-Test trip to Europe, where they will face England, Italy, Ireland and France on successive weekends.
Nick Champion de Crespigny, Josh Flook and Carlo Tizzano each scored a try for the visitors, but Japan hit back with tries from Shuhei Takeuchi and Ben Gunter.
Australia fielded a new-look team with 13 changes from the side that lost to New Zealand earlier in October. AFP
