France captain Antoine Dupont will play fly-half in Friday's Nations Championship match against world champions South Africa in Paris, filling a vacancy caused by multiple injuries in the French squad.
France head coach Fabien Galthie has selected the star scrum-half at number 10 because Matthieu Jalibert, Romain Ntamack, Thomas Ramos, and Antoine Hastoy are all unavailable due to injuries. Ntamack suffered a shoulder injury just 32 minutes into Saturday’s 54-17 victory over Fiji, forcing an early substitution.
Maxime Lucu had been widely expected to step into the fly-half position for the Paris fixture. Lucu came off the bench to replace Ntamack against Fiji and boasts more recent experience starting at 10 on the club level, having played there for Bordeaux-Begles against Gloucester last month. Galthie ultimately bypassed Lucu in favor of Dupont, who previously filled in at fly-half for Toulouse during an injury crisis in the 2023-24 season.
To combat the formidable forward power of the Springboks, Galthie has also recalled hooker Julien Marchand and number eight Gregory Alldritt, who was left out of this year’s Six Nations squad. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang will win his fourth cap on the wing.
Grandidier-Nkanang was born and raised in London but moved to France as a 19-year-old after struggling to secure a professional contract in England. He subsequently focused on Sevens, winning an Olympic gold medal alongside Dupont in 2024 before making a successful return to the 15-a-side game with Pau.
South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus acknowledged the unpredictable nature of his opponent’s tactical shift when speaking earlier this week. “I don’t even know if Dupont’s team-mates know exactly what he’s going to do next, so he’s just really playing on instinct, which is tough to handle,” Erasmus said.
The Springboks arrive in strong form, having won nine of their past 10 Tests against France. That dominant run includes a hard-fought 14-man victory last autumn and a narrow one-point quarter-final win over Les Bleus at the 2023 World Cup. Erasmus has made only one change to the side that thrashed Italy 66-7 on Saturday, with Wilco Louw replacing former Bath prop Thomas du Toit in the starting lineup.
France’s matchday squad features Attissogbe on the wing, partnered in the backline by Grandidier-Nkanang, Gourgues, Moefana, and Bielle-Biarrey, with Dupont and Lucu pairing at half-back. The forward pack includes Falatea, Marchand, Gros, Verhaeghe, Guillard, Cros, Woki, and Alldritt. Replacements named by Galthie are Mauvaka, Neti, Montagne, Ollivon, Staniforth, Capilla, Desperes, and Gailleton.
South Africa’s lineup deploys Willemse at full-back, with Arendse, Kriel, de Allende, and Hooker forming the outside backs. Feinberg-Mngomezulu and van den Berg start at half-back, supported upfront by Nche, Marx, Louw, de Jager, Nortje, PS du Toit, Kolisi, and Wiese. The Springbok bench features Wessels, Steenekamp, T du Toit, Mostert, Hanekom, de Villiers, Reinach, and Libbok.
