Nick Mallett believes France will go into this weekend's clash with South Africa carrying genuine revenge feelings from two painful Rugby World Cup defeats, with the emotional weight of 1995 and 2023 still lingering in the background.
The former Springboks boss said the French frustration is not hard to understand. South Africa beat France in a Rugby World Cup knockout match in 1995, and then edged them 29-28 in the 2023 quarter-final, a one-point loss that left a deep mark on Les Bleus.
The wounds from 1995 and 2023 have not gone away
Mallett said the old arguments still live on in French rugby circles, including the belief that Abdelatif Benazzi's try in the wet in 1995 should have stood. He also pointed to the wider suspicion that South Africa and Mandela were destined to win that tournament before it was even played, saying the theories around that defeat still matter to France.
On the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett said the 2023 loss was just as bruising. He recalled how shattered the French were by the one-point defeat, adding that Fabien Galthie even left France for a couple of weeks after the media uproar that followed.
Why this fixture carries so much edge
There has only been one meeting between France and South Africa since that quarter-final, and it again went the way of the Springboks. South Africa won 32-17 despite playing much of the match with 14 men after Lood de Jager's red card, which only adds another layer to the French frustration.
Mallett also remembered the reaction from the French crowd in 1995, saying he could not believe the boos when South Africa ran out for the semi-final and final. In his view, that sense of grievance has never fully gone away, and it is likely to make this weekend's match feel more intense than a normal international.
He summed up the mood simply: the resentment still lingers. Even after South Africa beat France with 14 men last year, Mallett believes the feeling in France will remain for a long time, and that means the pressure and emotion around this meeting will be real.
For France, that makes this far more than a standard Test. For South Africa, it is another reminder that their recent history against Les Bleus carries as much emotion as it does rugby.
