Bok captain Siya Kolisi scores a try during the Rugby Championship match against Australia at Ellis Park on 16 August 2025. (Photo: Johan Orton / Gallo Images) 
Former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber did not expect to see Siya Kolisi reach 100 Test caps, but he is overjoyed that the great flank will reach the milestone when the Boks meet France in Paris on Saturday.
Nienaber, who guided the Boks to the Rugby World Cup 2023 title, took up a job with Irish club Leinster after the tournament. Kolisi also appeared to have indicated that his Test career was over after that tournament, when he signed for Parisian club Racing 92. It was certainly a message that he was looking to broaden his life experiences.
Kolisi played his 83rd Test in the RWC 2023 final against the All Blacks, which the Boks won 12-11. Nienaber thought it might be the Bok skipper’s last.
Read more: Narrowest of margins: Brutal Boks find a way to edge Les Bleus in Paris quarterfinal thriller
“I definitely expected Siya to continue playing rugby after RWC 2023, just not Test rugby,” Nienaber told Daily Maverick from the US, where he was in Chicago to watch Ireland take on the All Blacks.
“He made a decision when he signed with Racing that he wouldn’t be playing Test rugby anywhere. The way I understand it, is that the Racing deal meant he had to retire from international rugby.
“Luckily Siya never formally retired from Test rugby and obviously he decided he wanted to continue playing for the Boks.”
Kolisi’s Racing deal lasted less than a year before he returned to South Africa (SA) to play for the Sharks, and was therefore available to continue to lead the Boks under coach Rassie Erasmus.
“When I left the Boks, did I think Siya would play more Test rugby? No,” said Nienaber. “Only because I thought he was retired from international rugby. But, was Siya good enough to still play Test rugby? Yes, 100% he was, and still is.”
Nienaber believes that under Erasmus the same principles that were in place when the two worked together, remain in terms of Bok selection, especially when it comes to older players.
“Look, how it was when I was part of the set-up, seems to be the same,” Nienaber said. “As long as a player is aligned with the Boks’ needs – as long as their ego is left at the door, their mindset is in line with the Boks’ principles and they are physically fit enough, they will be in the mix.
“That goes for everyone actually, not just older players.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/TL_2441346-1.jpg "Siya Kolisi on attack during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between South Africa and Australia at on 16 August, 2025 in Johannesburg. (Photo: Anton Geyser / Gallo Images)")
Experience counts
The Boks have relied heavily on experience with their team selection for this week against France.
In total, they go into the match with 1101 Test caps worth of experience and an average age of 30. France have a collective 588 Test caps and an average age profile of 27.
On the face of it, it looks like French youth against Springbok experience, but looks can be deceiving.
There is no doubt that France coach Fabien Galthié has selected a slightly younger team for a Test that marks the first meeting between the sides since a certain Rugby World Cup quarterfinal two years ago.
To some extent Galthié’s hand has been forced, with injuries to key players such as world-class props Uni Antonio and Cyril Baille, hooker Peato Mauvaka and back rowers François Cros and Charles Ollivon.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/TL_2378055.jpg "Former Bok coach Jacques Nienaber, who is now a Leinster coach in Ireland. (Photo: Anton Geyser / Gallo Images)")
The missing Dupont
And of course, there is the missing Antoine Dupont. While the others are all replaceable to an extent, there simply isn’t another Dupont.
It’s time for a new generation of French players to step up against the world champions and exact revenge for that 29-28 loss two years ago. Except that regardless of the outcome, nothing will ever fully heal that trauma for this generation of French players. Even if they beat the Boks 50-0 tomorrow night, Rassie Erasmus’s men will always have Paris 2023. It rankles Les Bleus.
But it’s also a chance for a new cast of Frenchman to write their own story against the Boks.
For a start, Les Bleus have not beaten the Boks at Stade de France since 2005, losing four times in the past 20 years. The French did win in Marseille in 2022, but it’s their only victory over the Boks in the last nine clashes between the sides. Mostly the games are close, but the Boks tend to find a way to win.
Despite their injury disruptions, particularly to the pack, France have a formidable unit with new props Props Baptiste Erdocio (Montpellier) and Régis Montagne (Clermont), who toured New Zealand in July.
Both played on that tour but are callow in terms of Test experience.
No 8 Mickaël Guillard in on Test debut.
“We have a big match on Saturday. This is our best team at the moment,” Galthié said at his team naming.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2225922339-1.jpg "Coach Fabien Galthié of France looks on ahead of the Test Match between the All Blacks and France at FMG Stadium Waikato on 19 July 2025 in Hamilton. (Photo: Phil Walter / Getty Images)")
Questioning props ‘a bit insulting’
“We shouldn’t question these players who are making their debuts. It’s a bit insulting. They are the two best props at the moment. They are eager to show what they can do against the best. We shouldn’t question their selection.
“They have performed well at club level and in training with us. The challenge is enormous, but for the entire pack and the replacements.”
Read more: Boks’ emotional marathon in Paris a litmus test for Kolisi’s trend-setting side
While France have not played a Test since July and on the face of it appear underdone for the game, their players have been engaged in tough club competition for nearly two months in the competitive Top 14.
“If I look at the athletic ability of the two teams, one team is older (Boks) and you don’t get more athletic as you get older,” Nienaber said.
“The flip side though, is that you have experience and understand the pressure of these big games better.
“The French players have been playing rugby. France’s top players had a proper pre-season with their clubs because they didn’t go to New Zealand, which is something you never get with top Test players.
“In that sense the French players are ready. Their top players had a good rest and proper pre-season, they’ve now played seven or eight club games.
“Yes, it’s club rugby and it’s not quite the same level as playing the Boks in a Test, but France’s players are rugby-ready.
“That’s why playing against Japan last week was a smart move by Rassie, because the Boks are much sharper now.” DM
Teams
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damien Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou (captain), 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Régis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio.
Reserves: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortère.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Reserves: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Ruan Nortjé, 21 André Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
Date: 8 November
Kick-off: 10.10pm
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)