Former French lock urges Le Bleus to front up to the Springboks in Paris

Willemse was born in Pretoria and played for the Lions and Bulls before moving to France to join Grenoble in 2014, switching his allegiances and eventually making his debut for Les Bleus in 2019.

As such, he has a unique perspective on the styles of rugby both teams are likely to play and says France cannot let South Africa's forwards get the upper hand.

He was a bruising, tough ball carrier himself, so he certainly knows a thing or two about fronting up.

He also believes Emmanuel Meafou is a key component of this strategy and has the potential to becoming a very important player for France going forward.

"The more experience he [Meafou] gets, I'd like to see him becoming the bully and becoming the classic enforcer on the field," he told AFP.

"I think he has everything he needs to get there. I'm really excited to see what he can do in the future."

Willemse will be at the stadium to watch the titanic contest on Saturday and there is no doubt in his mind about who he will be supporting.

"The French team, that's my teammates. That's the guys I played with. That's the guys I flipping chased dreams with, shared dreams with and achieved awesome things with them," Willemse said.

"There's no doubt in my mind. I've bled for the jersey. I've sacrificed for the jersey. So the French team is always going to be me."

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