Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger are predicting big things for France despite there still being over two years until the start of the next Rugby World Cup.
Les Bleus hosted the 2023 global tournament but were ousted at the quarter-final stage by the Springboks, who claimed a 29-28 triumph.
South Africa would go on to win the World Cup for their second successive title, but De Villiers reckons that they could well be followed by Fabien Galthie’s men.
Dominance in Europe
France won the recent Six Nations in stunning fashion, which included a hugely impressive triumph over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
They have also maintained their dominance at club level with Bordeaux-Begles making it five consecutive wins in the Champions Cup for Top 14 sides.
Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert, who are effectively second choice at Test level, were key to beating Northampton Saints in the final and it is that depth which stands out for De Villiers.
“The depth that France has now for their playmakers: Lucu, Jalibert, [Antoine] Dupont, [Romain] Ntamack, [Nolann] Le Garrec, [Thomas] Ramos. That’s three sets of nine and 10s that you can select,” the former Boks captain said on the Boks Office podcast.
“I think, slowly but surely, France might just be the biggest contender for World Cup winners 2027.
“The way they’re going. We’re not in Test season yet for the Boks but slowly but surely [they’re getting there].”
Burger also believes that they are going in the right direction and pointed to both their Champions Cup success and what they continue to produce at U20 level.
“The last five European Cup winners are French clubs. Their age-grade stuff has always been good so they’re building up to something special,” he said.
Facing the All Blacks
France’s next Tests take place in New Zealand where they go head-to-head with the All Blacks in a three-match series.
It will provide a good indicator of that much-heralded depth given that they will have a weakened side heading to the home of the three-time world champions.
Quite how weak they are remains to be seen considering that some of the French stars have expressed a desire to go on that New Zealand tour.
However, even if Galthie does have a severely depleted squad at his disposal, Burger believes that it could help them in the long-term.
The former South Africa flanker has also backed Les Bleus to “scare” the All Blacks and keep at least one of the matches close.
“All these players and we talk about their depth, they’re just creating more depth by exposing more players,” he said.
“Obviously, the Top 14 runs a bit longer and it’s the biggest competition for them. These players are earning well and they’re being held down by the clubs. It’s unfortunately the system.
“We’ve said before that we want to see their best players coming to South Africa and New Zealand will be no different, but in one of these games the French side will scare the All Blacks.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-legends-make-bold-france-call-two-years-out-from-the-rugby-world-cup-with-something-special-brewing
