If France beat Scotland in Paris on Saturday to clinch the Six Nations title, the achievement will be all the more impressive in that they did it without fielding a South African player.
The Les Bleus charge to the trophy has been inspired by performances from homegrown players such as talisman Antoine Dupont, winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey and flanker Francois Cros.
For the first time since the 2012 edition, France will not have picked a South African-born player during the competition, although New Zealand-born prop Uini Atonio and Australia-born lock Emmanuel Meafou are regulars.
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Lock Paul Willemse featured last season having won the 2022 Six Nations and is one of the 11 individuals from the Republic to have represented Les Bleus alongside former loose forward Antonie Claassen.
“The South Africans do the job, they train hard and they play hard,” six-time France international Claassen told AFP. “Historically I think the South African players have been really appreciated by the French clubs and the French public.”
Cape Town-born former No 8 Eric Melville was the first South African to wear the blue jersey in 1990, with the likes of prop Pieter de Villiers and fullback Scott Spedding some of the other names to follow in his footsteps.
One of the most iconic players to play for France hailing from South Africa was scrumhalf Rory Kockott, whose 11 caps came between 2014-2015 falling between two French Top 14 titles with Castres.
Kockott’s spell in the national side coincided with the strengthening of rules regarding homegrown players (known as Joueur Issu des Filieres de Formation, or JIFF) featuring for clubs in the Top 14.
They were introduced in 2010 with the aim of increasing gametime for JIFF players at domestic teams in the following seasons.
“The French team environment has evolved over the years,” ex-Castres halfback Kockott told AFP. “When we were there from 2014, it was a different dynamic. French junior players weren’t being developed as fast as they probably should have. They have certainly closed the gate on a larger number of foreign players in France.”
Former Bayonne back Spedding’s call-up to the France set-up in 2014 has become a cult moment. The man from Gauteng was caught on French television crying following a Top 14 game after learning from club coach Patrice Lagisquet that he had been picked for France by then-head coach Philippe Saint-Andre.
“I was at home on a Monday and I just got a call from Philippe saying ‘Listen are you ready to play against the English this weekend?’” Claassen said before his 2013 debut. “I wasn’t as much in the media as Scott, but I just thought it was an amazing call to get and an amazing feeling.”
In late 2020, World Rugby changed rules allowing an individual to feature for a second nation by increasing the residency period from three to five years.
In the past four editions of the World Rugby under-20s championship, France have won the title three times, having never reached the final before their 2018 success.
“If you look at the French under-20s team that have won the World Cup a couple of times, and those guys are coming through now, I think that’s all part of it,” added Claassen. “I think the generation at the moment is exceptional.”
This week, the current crop of dashing France players have a shot at just a second Six Nations title since 2010. In their way are Scotland, who are likely to have at least two South African-born players in their side in prop Pierre Schoeman from Nelspruit, and winger Duhan van der Merwe from George.
“They’re great, unbelievable players,” Kockott said. “They’ve shown what they’re worth. I think they have some great talent, and those guys have played most of their careers there, so they deserve this spot.”
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
