South Africa go into their Test against France in Paris on Saturday with full awareness of what the hosts will be trying to avenge, and forward Lood de Jager says they're preparing for a very 'tough' and 'direct' battle.
The Springboks defeated France 29-28 in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals in 2023, a tournament the Boks went on to win, and De Jager and flyhalf Manie Libbok said on Tuesday that the team was preparing for full force France.
De Jager said, diplomatically: "Every Test is a big challenge for us as a team and for each individual, personally. They are a very good team, and we know it's going to be a very big challenge on Saturday, but we are looking forward to it."
Libbok was more detailed, adding: "As Lood said, we are preparing for this match as we do with every other Test, and within our team the focus is on us and what we want to do on the field. We want to give our best for the team and the country, and for each of us it is a privilege to be here.
"Our past encounters against France have always been tough, and it shows what a quality team they are, and how hard it is to come here and face them, and this week will be no different.
"It was obviously good for us to get the result in the World Cup. The match was very intense and physical, and it took a lot out of us. At the end of the day, one point separated the teams on the scoreboard, but we are pleased that we got the result."
Going into specifics, the forward pack will be the biggest hurdle for the Boks to tackle, said De Jager: "They have a big pack and are generally very confrontational, so it's going to be a big challenge for us to see where we are on Saturday.
"They have a good maul and scrum, and they play very direct rugby, so it is going to be a good test for our forwards.
"We analyse every team we play and obviously we've had a look at their lineouts. They have a high success rate in that area of their game and a proper maul, and that's definitely a threat, so we have to do our best to negate that if we want to get the upper hand to win the match on Saturday."
Meanwhile, Boks assistant coach Felix Jones said that the team wasn't focusing on the past at all, and that France's motivations were their own, and of no concern to the world champions.
Jones said: "What happened in 2023 was positive too for many other reasons, but that's in the past. Our focus this week is to give ourselves the best chance to perform well on Saturday.
"I don't know (if they are seeing this as a revenge match), to be honest. I'm not sure how they are talking about it in their camp. That said, it would be hard to deny that they would have some regrets from that game that they would like to make right."