Rejuvenated Romain Ntamack hungry to tackle Boks after missing 2023 quarter-final

France flyhalf Romain Ntamack says that even though he did not play in the World Cup quarter-final against the Springboks, all French players were tainted by the agonising defeat.

When the sides last met at the Stade de France, the Boks won 29-28 in a nightmare end to the host nation’s dream of winning the Webb Ellis Cup on French soil.

Not long before the 2023 tournament, Ntamack suffered a serious knee injury. He had been favoured to be the starting flyhalf, but the No 10 jersey went to Mattieu Jalibert, who is likely to be on the bench on Saturday behind Ntamack.

“I wasn’t part of that World Cup quarter-final squad, but the trauma affected more than just the 23 players on the team sheet,” he told RugbyRama. “Since then, all that has passed, and now we’re focused on Saturday night’s match.”

Ntamack says that while the first encounter with the Boks for two years carries extra emotion, he insists France’s focus is on building momentum for the rest of their November campaign.

“This match is important because we are playing the two-time world champions,” he said. “Regardless of the result, the performance must give us collective experience in preparation for the rest of the autumn series (against Fiji and Australia) and, later, the World Cup.”

The 26-year-old says he is enjoying a new lease on life after a series of injuries since that pre-World Cup setback.

“I feel light, happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to start a November tour at 100% of my physical capacity,” Ntamack said.

“Day to day, I’m having a huge amount of fun and feel fantastic. I’m approaching this match a bit like a kid wearing the French national jersey for the first time.”

Meanwhile, the French team to play the Boks seems to have been leaked by the National Rugby League (LNR), which manages the professional rugby clubs in France. On Wednesday, the LNR briefly published an article confirming the team.

The deleted post had stated: “The starting fifteen for the first match of this autumn tour was revealed by Fabien Galthié.”

Within an hour, the article was taken down and replaced by an “Error 404” message, but not before screenshots of the lineup hit social media.

The lineup is too strong (and predicted) for it to be a ruse.

France Team (Probable)

15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou (c), 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.

Bench: 16 Benjamin Bertrand, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Thomas Laclayat, 19 Romain Taofifénua, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Maxime Lucu, 22 Matthieu Jalibert, 23 Léo Barré.