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The 'biggest gift' France have and the blueprint to combat it
By Josh Raisey
The question the rugby world has been asking in the fallout from the Guinness Six Nations is how to stop the French pack.
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Scotland tried and failed at the Stade de France in round five, leaving an awestruck Gregor Townsend to describe the task of taking on Les Bleus’ pack, and the seven extra forwards Fabien Galthie rolls out from the bench at his leisure, as “one of the biggest challenges in world rugby right now.”
South Africa may have been the architects of the ‘Bomb Squad’, but France now have their own squadron to blow the world champions’ out of the water in terms of weight, when they are able to bring off 145kg tighthead prop Uini Atonio and have the equally hefty Emmanuel Meafou on the bench ready to add that same amount of weight in the second-row.
But former Springbok Jean de Villiers believes the world champions may also be the architects of the gameplan to combat ‘Le Bomb Squad.’
Speaking on RugbyPass TV’s Boks Office this week, de Villiers cited the encounter between France and South Africa in Marseille in 2022 as that blueprint. Though the Boks controversially lost that match, the former South Africa captain pinpointed the tactics adopted by Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus on that occasion as the recipe to nullify the Six Nations champions.
“Think back to November 2022,” he said. “When South Africa played France in Marseille. The way that the Boks decided not to kick it back and run back when they kicked deep to make the forwards work. I think that’s how you defuse that.
“Then you’ll still have a fresh pack to come on, but I think that will certainly help to an extent.”
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Schalk Burger agreed with his former team-mate, saying France’s “biggest gift” is the body type of their players at breakdowns, who can take the pace out of the game and turn ball over – Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s second try against Ireland this year epitomising that.
PURE ENTERTAINMENT 🤩
You can always count on Louis Bielle-Biarrey to finish off an absolute stunner 🤝#GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/wbzU1VnMbz
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 8, 2025
The former flanker, therefore, says teams must force France’s sizeable pack to make tackles by keeping the ball in play.
“Make it a long kicking game and you just truck it back and you make those biggies in the middle work, make tackles, run back and forward,” he said.
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“If you take the pace out of the game, those athletes that they’ve got currently are power athletes. They get into that 22 and they’re fresh when they get there.
“I think you want to keep ball in play against the French side, make them work, make them do tackles. Put different pressure on them through your contested kicking game, force them to run back 50 metres, and then make one or two of those ‘dead carries’, then eventually space is going to open up to you. But they’ve got a fresh pack coming off the bench which they access like the Boks do, quite early.
“I think it will be fascinating to see if both countries go with a 7-1 split against each other.
“Their biggest gift is those body types at breakdowns. They’ve got the ability to take the pace out. You go one or two quick rucks and then big hit, man over the ball, slow ruck – five seconds, seven seconds – and next thing you’ve got a turnover or you’ve got to go to your kicking shape.”
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It also helps that France has more money and registered pro players than any other nation, and they don’t lose those players overseas, they drain them from other nations instead. Especially useful if those countries then can’t select those players.
In the Galthié era, France didn’t come with a strong lock enforcer in both games against South Africa.
In 2022, it was Woki & Flament (and 2 quick concussions for Danty and Flament).
In the 2023 QF, same light lock duo with Woki and Flament.
It will be interesting to finally see France challenge the most complete, fierce and legendary second row in the world that is SA with Meafou, Flament, Guillard and maybe Tuilagi during the Autumn Series.