South Africa rugby chief Rassie Erasmus has accused France of 'simulation' – but admitted they're good at it.
Erasmus is the outspoken director of rugby with the national side, who have been coached by Jacques Nienaber since 2020. Ahead of their contest against Rugby World Cup hosts France, Erasmus has hit out.
Erasmus said: "I think the French are not playing a reckless game where they are on the edge of being too physical. What they do well is that when they get close to the high hits, they really show that to the referee.
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"They do simulate sometimes a little bit which is clever and obviously works. I think they’re very clear at that, very good at that."
France reached the last eight with a perfect Group A record that included an opening day win over three-time winners New Zealand.
Fabien Galthie's men are joint favourites with Ireland to lift The Webb Ellis Cup for the first time, which would mean seeing off the threat of the reigning champions.
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Three-time winners the Springboks, still lead by World Cup winning skipper from 2019 Siya Kolisi, finished second in Pool B thanks to a 13-8 defeat at the hands of Ireland.
So far across their four matches, France have had two opponents in the sin bin and one red carded.
The most worrying collision involved captain Dupont, who suffered a fractured cheekbone against Namibia, but since returned to full training.
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The official quarter final matchday programme for Rugby World Cup 2023 France.
The programme is a perfect-bound 100-page bilingual (French and English) publication and is the ultimate souvenir guide to the game.
Each programme includes the final squad line-ups which are only released 48 hours before kick-off, updated profiles of the players, match previews and analysis. Plus interviews with Rugby World Cup legends, stadium guides, features on French culture, news, quizzes, statistics and the all-important lyrics to sing along with each team’s national anthem.
This is the official matchday programme, so order your copy for home delivery now, just click here!
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France forwards coach William Servat has said before the Sunday quarter-final: "Antoine is doing very well, he needed to recuperate.
"He's been involved in the team's strategic choices and the changes we're making to the game.
"Today [Wednesday] he was even more involved. He's back with us and he's very active in training."
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