Bok lock Lood de Jager expecting 'confrontational' French pack in Paris

World Rugby's heavyweights clash for the first time since their truly epic 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal encounter at Stade de France.

The hosts last featured on the world stage in July, when coach Fabian Galthie accompanied a largely experimental squad to New Zealand. They lost the series 3-0. But de Jager is expecting a different animal this weekend.

The Boks enjoy measuring themselves against the best, and France certainly boast a fiercely combatative pack when they're in form.

"They have a big pack and are generally very confrontational, so it's going to be a big challenge for us to see where we are on Saturday," said de Jager.

"They have a good maul and scrum, and they play very direct rugby, so it is going to be a good test for our forwards.

"We analyse every team we play and obviously we've had a look at their lineouts. They have a high success rate in that area of their game and a proper maul, and that's definitely a threat, so we have to do our best to negate that if we want to get the upper hand to win the match on Saturday.

"Every Test is a big challenge for us as a team and for each individual personally. They are a very good team, and we know it's going to be a very big challenge on Saturday, but we are looking forward to it."

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is expected to announce his matchday squad on Thursday. 

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