Injury crisis forces Dupont to fly-half as France face world champions Springboks

Antoine Dupont will wear the No.10 jersey for France against South Africa in the Nations Championship at the Stade de France on Friday, after a mounting injury crisis left coach Fabien Galthié without a single recognised fly-half in his squad.

Romain Ntamack was the first to fall, dislocating his shoulder during last weekend’s 54-17 win over Fiji. With Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos and Antoine Hastoy also ruled out, Galthié has turned to his captain and the world’s best player to fill the void at No.10, moving Maxime Lucu — who finished the Fiji match at fly-half — into the scrum-half role. Uncapped Pau playmaker Axel Desperes is named among the replacements as additional cover.

The injury list did not stop there. Flanker Paul Boudehent, who started and scored against Fiji, has withdrawn with a calf injury, while Paul Gabrillagues was called into the wider squad but did not make the matchday 23.

Despite the disruption, the forward pack retains considerable experience. Julien Marchand returns at hooker between Jean-Baptiste Gros and Sipili Falatea, with Florian Verhaeghe and Mickaël Guillard in the second row. François Cros, Cameron Woki and Grégory Alldritt complete the back row — the latter’s inclusion ending an exile from Galthié’s squads of nearly a year.

In the backs, Yoram Moefana and Kalvin Gourgues continue in midfield, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang start on the wings, and Théo Attissogbe is named at full-back.

The opposition represents a sharp step up from Fiji. South Africa arrive having demolished Italy 66-7 and have made just one change to the starting XV that produced that performance. The world champions will be returning to the same Stade de France pitch where their 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France — a match that remains a source of deep frustration for the hosts — was played.

Beyond the immediate stakes of the Nations Championship, the fixture carries longer-term significance: it is expected to be the last meeting between the two sides before a potential 2027 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Australia.