France vs South Africa Tips: Back the Springboks
Back South Africa to beat France. The Springboks scored 66 against Italy and have the stronger Nations Championship return, but Dupont's move to fly-half gives Friday's Paris Test a different shape.
France v South Africa. Friday, 13 November 2026, 22:10 SAST. Nations Championship. Stade de France, Saint-Denis.
Match comparison
| Team | Recent performance | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Beat Italy 66-7 | Led 45-0 at half-time |
| France | Beat Fiji 54-17 | Dupont starts at fly-half |
The Boks settled the Italy match before half-time
South Africa led Italy 45-0 at the break and finished with a 66-7 win. They enter the France match on 20 Nations Championship points, compared with France's 17.
The half-time score is the useful part of that Italy result: the Springboks did most of the damage before the match became a late chase for extra points. France will face a side arriving from a much more emphatic opening November performance.
Dupont and Lucu are the selected half-backs
France have named Antoine Dupont at fly-half with Maxime Lucu at scrum-half. Romain Ntamack is out with a shoulder injury, while Gregory Alldritt and Julien Marchand return to the starting side.
That moves Dupont away from his usual scrum-half role for a major Test. France still scored 54 points against Fiji last week, so the change is not a reason to dismiss their attack. It does make the new half-back combination central to the contest.
France have already pushed New Zealand close
France lost 34-32 to New Zealand earlier in the competition. That two-point margin is a better warning for the Boks than the suggestion that Friday will resemble their comfortable afternoon against Italy.
South Africa won 32-17 in Paris last year. Alongside the current points advantage and the Italy performance, it supports the away win, while France's scoring against Fiji and New Zealand argues against an ambitious winning-margin call.
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