--- title: "Dupont at flyhalf for France against Springboks to ‘create something unimaginable, unexpected’" description: "France’s talismanic scrumhalf Antoine Dupont will start at flyhalf against the Springboks in Paris on Friday. Is this a genius move by coach Fabien Galthié, or simply a situational selection?" type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "LE PIVOT" author: "Craig Ray" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/craig-ray/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-11-12-dupont-at-flyhalf-for-france-against-springboks-to-create-something-unimaginable-unexpected/" published: "2026-11-12T11:30:00" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 1303 --- # Dupont at flyhalf for France against Springboks to ‘create something unimaginable, unexpected’ > France’s talismanic scrumhalf Antoine Dupont will start at flyhalf against the Springboks in Paris on Friday. Is this a genius move by coach Fabien Galthié, or simply a situational selection? By Craig Ray · Published 12 November 2026, 13:30 SAST ## Key points - France have sprung a major surprise for Friday’s clash with the Springboks: talisman Antoine Dupont will start at flyhalf, with Maxime Lucu at scrumhalf. - With three specialist No 10s and regular fullback Thomas Ramos injured, coach Fabien Galthié has chosen an audacious solution to “create something unimaginable”. - The combination promises attacking unpredictability, tactical kicking and defensive headaches – but Dupont will face the brutal reality of defending against the Boks’ big men. - The intriguing subplot: Dupont’s battle with young Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, in a contest that could be decided by which pack wins the physical war. ## Content On Monday afternoon Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus mused aloud about France’s flyhalf options for their Nations Championship clash four days hence. Les Bleus are without key injured flyhalves Romain Ntamack, Matthieu Jalibert and Antoine Hastoy. Regular fullback Thomas Ramos, a deadly goalkicker and intelligent playmaker is also injured, ruling out that idea as an option. France coach Fabien Galthié used scrumhalf Maxime Lucu, he of the all-conquering Bordeaux Bègles club, at flyhalf against Fiji last week after Ntamack was forced out of the game. The consensus was that Lucu would start in the No 10 jersey against the Boks this weekend due to lack of options. Erasmus though, looked deeper and wider. He immediately dismissed the Lucu-at-flyhalf idea, musing that France would want someone with more physicality in that channel. ![Australia v France - Nations Championship](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/42PdZAxTtjOWI5dCj0jC1m_3L7o=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Rugby-Dupontchallenge2_448202.jpg) *Maxime Lucu of France passes the ball during the Nations Championship match against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 11 July. Lucu will start at scrumhalf against the Boks. (Photo: Asanka Ratnayake / Nations Championship via Getty Images)* Perhaps he heard Galthié’s comments after Les Bleus’ 54-17 win over Fiji. The French mentor hinted that a more creative, alternative solution would be needed in the troublesome position against the world champions. “We’ll have to create something unimaginable, something unexpected,” Galthié said after Fiji had been dismissed. ### Le Pivot Erasmus wondered if his French counterpart might look to deploy one of their legion of tough centres such as Kalvin Gourgues in the No 10 jersey, simply to ensure their defence did not end up resembling the Maginot Line circa 1940. “I think they’ll go for a more physical 10 and then put Lucu on a bit later when it is more open,” Erasmus said. “I think they will try to move us around. But I am 100% sure that from the beginning it will be a straightforward up-and-down from both teams trying to get dominance.” ![Nations Championship: South Africa Training Session](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Del1gpeboLVu0WWMjEV18Heewtw=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Rugby-Dupontchallenge5_597842.jpg) *Bok coach Rassie Erasmus during a training session at Insep Fields in Paris on 10 November 2026. (Photo: David Winter / Gallo Images)* Galthié, though, seems to have got one over Erasmus – whom, it’s fair to say, is something of a nemesis for the Frenchman – by choosing Dupont at flyhalf. The Boks have won nine of their past 10 Tests against France, including the past five at Stade de France. It’s possible that the Boks expected to see Dupont at flyhalf at some stage – it’s not unusual for him to drift into the vital role in general play during matches. But did they really plan for the little general to start at No 10, in tandem with Lucu? With Lucu’s brilliant skills at scrumhalf, his combative attitude and his synapse-pinging rugby brain, and Dupont’s almost alien instincts, this could be one of the most exciting selections in memory. Besides Dupont’s obvious rugby intelligence and innate ability to see space and bend time to his will, he also brings more prosaic skills such as tough tackling and a fine tactical kicking game to the equation. ![Australia v France - Nations Championship](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/YLG7hU7s1JkKlrRSudEVxq-423I=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Rugby-Dupontchallenge4_353110.jpg) *France coach Fabien Galthié. (Photo: Asanka Ratnayake / Nations Championship via Getty Images)* Lucu too has a laser-guided kicking game – off both feet. But they both also like to attack space and unleash strike runners. The Boks will have their hands full because the threats will come from the skies and on the ground. It’s a fascinating examination for Erasmus’s men. “We have two icons, one playing in Bordeaux (Lucu) and the other in Toulouse (Dupont), whom we have wanted to bring together to lead this French team on Friday evening,” Galthié said. “It won’t be easy, but having discussed it with them – we’ve probably talked about it more than we’ve trained for it – we’ve visualised how it will work, and we believe this is the best solution.” In case it isn’t, France have included 22-year-old uncapped Axel Desperes on the bench. He is a specialist flyhalf. “We simply did what we felt was best. We haven’t particularly listened to the advice of others,” Galthié said. “There are plenty of coaches in France offering opinions on team selections, and I can see that people all over the world are interested in our French team. I’m perfectly happy with that. It means Les Bleus are popular. “So, yes, I hear the advice coming from around the world, but ultimately we know our players very well.” ### SFM vs Dupont? In a match dripping with more subplots than a Netflix thriller, the idea of Bok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in direct conflict with Dupont is salivating. Sacha, given his nature, will relish the contest. He’ll almost certainly want a little *mano a mano* action against Dupont, to test himself and the credentials of the man the northern hemisphere considers to be the best rugby player on the planet. ![Nations Championship: Italy v South Africa](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Kg-3_VJYBgleH7JCQ_uZoytR2_o=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Rugby-Dupontchallenge3_152060.jpg) *Bok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu tears through Italy’s defence at Allianz Stadium in Turin on 7 November 2026. (Photo: Nderim Kaceli / Gallo Images)* It will be fascinating to see how Erasmus deploys his major playmaker on attack against Dupont, who might not be left to defend the flyhalf channel at first phase. In all likelihood, when the opportunity presents itself, the Boks will send No 8 Jasper Wiese straight at Dupont to ask some questions. France can hide Dupont at times, but given the number on his back, he will be asked to make more head-on tackles on big men than he’s used to. And even with the ball on attack, Dupont might find life a little tougher one channel wider. Flanks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi will have free licence to hound Dupont across the Stade de France turf all night. While all these little battles will be fascinating and accumulate towards the final outcome, at a very basic level Dupont and Feinberg-Mngomezulu will only be able to operate comfortably on the back of forwards creating a solid platform. The Bok pack is settled, experienced and menacing. France’s might be slightly more mobile, but it cannot shy away from the physical onslaught coming its way. They have beefed up their lineout with the recall of hooker Julien Marchand, who is an accurate thrower. But can they handle the scrum furnace and will they be good enough to slow Bok ruck ball? “We’ll have to match the Springboks physically, because that’s what they build their wins on,” France flank François Cros said. “If we’re not up to it there, the match will be very complicated. Let’s put things in the right order, and after that we’ll have our chances on the more creative side. That’s the whole challenge, the whole beauty of this match. “It’s going to hurt, that’s for sure. But when you love combat sports, you love taking on the best.” **DM** **Teams:** **France:** 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Antoine Dupont (captain), 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 François Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros. **Reserves:** 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Axel Desperes, 23 Emilien Gailleton. **South Africa:** 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nché. **Reserves:** 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok. **Date:** Friday, 13 November **Venue:** Stade de France **Kick-off:** 10:10pm **Referee:** Andrea Piardi (Italy) **Assistant referees:** Christophe Ridley (England), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) **TMO:** Matteo Liperini (Italy)