Etzebeth was initially not selected for the End of Year tour after sustaining in injury while playing for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship.

On Saturday, during the warm-ups ahead of the Test against Italy in Turin, Salmaan Moerat, was withdrawn from the starting XV due to a back spasm that had bothered in the week and flared up again.

Etzebeth however doesn’t replace Moerat in the squad, but instead comes in to the team at the expense of the uncapped flyhalf, Yaqeen Ahmed. The product of Wynberg Boys’ High is one of six uncapped players in the squad, and was sidelined with a sore shoulder which saw him miss most of the training sessions in the build-up to the Test against Italy.

Meanwhile, Les Bleus, now awaits the Boks in Paris, and there is no doubt that this will be only of the world champions hardest Tests of the year. Last year the Boks beat France 32-17 in Saint-Denis and with several key players not on tour will raise the toughness level considerably.

South Africa are confident following the 66-7 win again Italy in Turn on Saturday, and man of the match and scrumhalf, Morné van den Berg, said they have to build on their momentum.

“It's very special. It's a special stadium, and it's always special to wear this jersey. There are so many blessings, and I really appreciate it,” said Van der Berg.

“We're still working on our game, and there's so much we can improve on. That's actually quite exciting. We'll go back, study the video and see exactly where we need to improve.”

“Credit to Italy for putting us under pressure. They're an incredible team and an incredible nation. They've got so much heart. We expected them to fight back, and that's an area where we could have been better. All credit to them – they're incredible people and warriors.”

Morné van den Berg - Morgan Piek

Van der Berg warned that the French still have the 29-28 defeat in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals still fresh in the back of their minds.

“It was especially important to get our game right and execute the things we've been practising.” Van den Bergh added.

“We also need to build some momentum going into next week, so this result was very important.”

Friday’s Test between France at the Springboks at Stade de France kicks off at 22:10.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport