Springboks team v France: Louw starts, Etzebeth made to wait

Eben Etzebeth is in France, but not in the 23 for Paris.

Rassie Erasmus, the head coach, has kept faith with the side that won in Turin and left a lock with 147 Tests out of it. Why hold back a fit veteran for the biggest game of the trip?

The Springboks team v France, named on Monday 9 November 2026, has two changes from the 66-7 win over Italy: Wilco Louw starts at tighthead for Thomas du Toit, who drops to the bench, and Cobus Reinach replaces Grant Williams as bench scrum-half.

Key facts

• Match: France v South Africa, Stade de France, Friday 13 November
• In: Wilco Louw (starts at No.3), Cobus Reinach (bench)
• Out of the 23: Grant Williams; Thomas du Toit moves to the bench
• Locks: Lood de Jager and Ruan Nortjé start, Franco Mostert on the bench
• Not picked: Eben Etzebeth, back with the squad since Monday
• Record: nine wins in the last ten against France, and the last four at the Stade de France

Why Erasmus kept Etzebeth back

Etzebeth was first ruled out of the tour with an ankle injury. He returned on Monday as the replacement for injured fly-half Yaqeen Ahmed, and SA Rugby magazine reports that his last game came on 10 October, a Sharks match against Leinster.

That is a month without rugby. Erasmus’s explanation, as the magazine relays it, is that a week of training will serve Etzebeth better than being thrown straight into a Test.

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Springboks vs France: Ben Youngs Says France Must Win In Paris In November. Dan Cole Says The Only Way To Beat South Africa Is To Catch Them Cold.

Analysis · 6 min read

A lock pairing that began as an emergency

De Jager wears No.4 next to Nortjé again. In Turin he was promoted just before kick-off, after Salmaan Moerat withdrew with back spasms in the warm-up.

The pairing forced on him in Turin is now his first choice. Erasmus pointed to the near two weeks that De Jager and Mostert have spent with the group, and to their record in big games against France.

That leaves Eben Etzebeth, a 147-Test lock, chasing a place in a second row that is not broken. Dublin is the next chance to take it.

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Louw in for Du Toit at tighthead

Louw for Du Toit is a like-for-like swap at tighthead. Erasmus called it a rotational switch inside a front row that has played together for several seasons, and Ox Nché and Malcolm Marx start again beside Louw.

The bench keeps its six forwards and two backs: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Du Toit, Mostert, Cameron Hanekom and Paul de Villiers, then Reinach and Manie Libbok.

The coach cited the scrum-half’s years at Montpellier, and his knowledge of French conditions is the reason given for the change.

The Springboks’ record in Paris

The Springboks have won nine of their last ten Tests against France. They have also won each of their last four at the Stade de France, including 32-17 a year ago.

Sixteen of Friday’s 23 played in that game, among them every starting forward but Nché. Ten were part of the 29-28 World Cup quarter-final win in Paris in 2023.

The case for picking Etzebeth now

France have lost three forwards from their group in a week, by our count of the French reports, and Fabien Galthié has since named a side with Antoine Dupont at fly-half.

A rebuilt French pack is where some would want 147 Tests of experience on the bench at least. Erasmus has said from the start that he would not rotate much on this tour, and both sides are chasing top spots in their Nations Championship tables, with a place in the final at stake.

What happens next

France named their team on Wednesday, with Dupont at 10 and Maxime Lucu at 9. The Springboks then travel to Dublin to play Ireland on Saturday 21 November, and the full run is on the Springboks fixtures page.

With France bringing Alldritt and Marchand back into their pack, should Erasmus have found Etzebeth a bench spot ahead of Franco Mostert?

Read next

• The opposition prop’s view of Erasmus’s front-row switch
• Where Erasmus first pitched the 7-1 split, and why Etzebeth said yes
• The last-quarter trend the Springboks bench has to reverse

Sources: SA Rugby magazine (team and Erasmus’s explanation), IOL (headline only), Rugbyrama via our France team news. Erasmus’s remarks are paraphrased because we saw them only second-hand.