[LOOK] Bring on Dupont: Faf de Klerk is ready to tackle French ace
|Published
Face-off: Bok Faf de Klerk.Picture credit: Christophe Tesson
Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk is up for the challenge of facing France captain Antoine Dupont in their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal clash at Stade France on Sunday.
Dupont was on Monday given the all-clear to return to training for French side and could wear a helmet or some sort of protective gear after fracturing a cheekbone in their Pool A clash with South Africa’s neighbours Namibia last month.
He has since been sidelined and missed their 60-7 win over Italy at the weekend.
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But the French Rugby Federation on Monday released a statement on their website which reads: “Following his planned visit to the surgeon who had operated on him, Antoine Dupont received authorisation to resume rugby training from today.”
The return of their talismanic 26-year-old captain will undoubtedly stir up an already-vocal French crowd.
But the Boks have a gevaar behind the base of the scrum of their own in De Klerk, who says of Dupont’s return: “He’s obviously a great player for the French and he really gives them a lot of confidence when he plays. But it doesn’t affect us when he plays or not, we play against a team and not individuals.
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“He is a great player, but we’ll prepare as a team playing the team of France not just against him. But it’s always good to play against one of the world’s best.”
De Klerk is expected to be named in the No.9 jumper when the Boks announce their side on Friday. But exactly who will partner him at halfback remains to be seen.
The two candidates are Handre Pollard, who started against Tonga after joining the squad in place of the Malcolm Marx, and Manie Libbok.
Of Pollard’s return, De Klerk says: “It’s great to have him back, he’s great asset and gives a lot of confidence to the players around him. His calm demeanour can help us a lot in playoff games. “Manie [Libbok] has playing unbelievably well organising well and helping us scoring tries. Any one of them can play. It’s great for Manie to have Polly here and vice versa. I’m just fortunate to pass the ball to them.”