This weekend is a bumper weekend for rugby fans as we are into the 2nd round of 5 with the Northern Hemisphere hosting the Autumn internationals. The matches are not great with the top teams taking on weaker opposition and the stand out game is France versus South Africa a repeat of the unforgettable World Cup quarter final from 2023. I will no doubt be watching all of them hoping for an upset which can always happen yet unlikely.
The one comment by a French player caught my eye when he mentioned SA had stolen their World Cup and this game was one of revenge. Well let us see how that goes as this comment gives the SA dressing room an added boost. Players should keep their mouths shut noy giving the opposition coaching stuff extra incentives for their players.
In 2023 France was the host nation with many pundits having the m as favorites only to lose by 1 point to SA. When you look at what France has done since then they sent a second string team to tour New Zealand. The former world number one player Anton Du Pont believe it or not has never toured outside of Europe which many think is not helping the French side.
The match kicks off at 9pm in Paris which is kind of late, but is peak viewing time which pleases the sponsors having more rugby fans tuning in. The quarter final match between these two teams was the game of the tournament and everyone is expecting another block buster. South Africa has progressed as a team since then so I expect SA to put the French away. The French though on their day can beat anyone so it will depend on which French team turns up mentally. I would still expect SA to win by 15 knowing the team has been playing over the last 3 months and are more prepared for the physical battle.
Upper Hand Physically
There is such a big difference between training and full body contact which many teams do not do in training due to fear of injury. The SA team do full contact practices and scrum against each other and not a practice machine and why they are the best scrummaging team in the world. Other international teams don't have that depth of luxury and would say the SA team could use their second string scrum and beat any other team at this set piece.
The other game results should all be one way traffic with the favorites comfortably winning. Ireland should win by 35, New Zealand over powering Scotland in a close game by 10, England by 5 over Fiji, Australia by 7 over Italy and tomorrow Argentina by 20 over Wales. There is always a chance of an upset, but this weekend nothing jumps out unless some one is red carded which could even things out.
One of the games not televised is Columbia versus Mexico and did not even know they played rugby. When you hear these two countries in the same sentence it is more in regard to narcotics and will definitely look for a Youtube highlights package more out of curiosity.