Rassie Erasmus Questions France’s Flyhalf Plan Ahead of Springboks Clash

Rassie Erasmus expects France to make a tactical adjustment at flyhalf rather than ask scrumhalf Maxime Lucu to fill the role from the opening whistle against South Africa. The Springboks coach shared his assessment ahead of Friday night’s Nations Championship meeting in Paris, according to the report. France were dealt a major setback when Romain Ntamack was injured against Fiji. Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Hastoy and Thomas Ramos were also unavailable, leaving the hosts with limited options at No 10. Lucu stepped in there after Ntamack went off, but Erasmus thinks coach Fabien Galthié may prefer a more physically imposing player, with centre Kalvin Gourgues potentially getting an unusual chance at flyhalf. “I think they’ll go for a more physical 10 and then put Lucu on a bit later when it is more open,” Erasmus said. He added that he expected both sides to begin with a direct approach, looking to establish dominance before trying to move the opposition around. The Springboks coach also pushed back against any suggestion that France’s injuries automatically made South Africa favourites. He listed several unavailable or doubtful Springbok regulars, including Frans Malherbe, RG Snyman, Eben Etzebeth, Kwagga Smith, André Esterhuizen, Handré Pollard and Cheslin Kolbe, and asked: “So who’s understrength?” Erasmus noted that the teams were at different points in their seasons. South Africa were nearing the end of theirs, while France had played the Six Nations earlier in the year and were coming off their summer schedule. He said injuries and the timing of a team’s campaign could shape perceptions, but did not consider the favourites label decisive. “The only bad thing about thinking you are favourites is that you might become complacent,” he said. “And we are definitely not complacent about this.”