It’s the clash of the titans as the Springboks face off with France in a Nations Championship blockbuster in Paris on Friday night, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
There are four exciting fixtures on Saturday, starting with the game between Italy and Argentina in Genoa.
The action then moves to Cardiff for the clash between Wales and the All Blacks, before moving to London, where England and Japan lock horns, and finally to Dublin, for the duel between Ireland and Fiji.
The fifth round of the new international competition wraps up on Sunday in Edinburgh, where Scotland and the Wallabies square off.
France vs South Africa
Friday, 13 November – 22:10
Usually, they save the best for last, but this week, fans are in for a serious treat as they get the mouth-watering battle between the Boks and Les Bleus first up under Friday night lights.
The mighty Boks – who are fresh off hammering Italy 66-7 – are the world and Rugby Championship champions, while France – who thumped Fiji 54-17 last weekend – are the kings of the North, having clinched the Six Nations earlier this year.
Both lead their respective conferences; South Africa and New Zealand are both on 20 log points, but Rassie Erasmus’ men sit at the summit thanks to a superior points’ difference of 67, whereas France are two points ahead of their nearest rivals England and Ireland on 17.
Something has to give in the Paris pressure cooker that is the Stade de France, where the hosts will be desperate for victory after being made to bend the knee there by the Boks in the classic Rugby World Cup quarter-final in 2023 and again last year.
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In fact, last year’s 32-17 triumph was the Boks’ fifth straight at the venue, while the men in Green and Gold have also won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two nations, with the lone loss since 2010 being a 30-26 reverse in Marseille in 2022.
Add the fact that France will be without their two best flyhalves, Roman Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert, and their ace goal-kicker and first-choice fullback Thomas Ramos, all of whom are on the injured list, and one understands why South Africa are the favourites.
That said, this should be a humdinger. The French have a heavyweight pack, a great general in Antoine Dupont and arguably the best winger in the world in Louis Bielle-Biarrey. They are missing some key forwards, though, while Dupont will fill in at flyhalf.
The Boks, in turn, have the most destructive scrum in the game, anchored by the 2025 World Player of the Year Malcolm Marx, red-hot halfbacks, an excellent aerial game, the Bomb Squad AND continuity.
All these factors point to another victory for the Boks in Paris.
Prediction: South Africa by 9.
Suggested Bet: South Africa -8.5 at 1.87.
Italy vs Argentina
Saturday, 14 November – 13:40
Winless, rooted at the bottom of the Northern Hemisphere standings and coming off a 59-point spanking by the Boks, Italy are in more than just a pickle, and even the struggling Pumas will pounce on them.
Argentina have really regressed this year, winning just a single game against Wales (35-21), and were trampled 42-12 by Ireland last weekend. They do have some classy players, though, and will pick up a welcome win.
Prediction: Argentina by 12.
Suggested Bet: Italy +14.5 at 1.88.
Wales vs New Zealand
Saturday, 14 November – 16:10
After hanging on to beat the Brave Blossoms 28-21 last weekend, Wales have zero chance to build on that as they come up against the All Blacks, whom they haven’t beaten since 1953.
To make matters worse for the Welsh, the men in black are motivated to overtake South Africa at the summit of the Southern Hemisphere conference.
Fresh off an emphatic 43-21 win over Scotland, Dave Rennie’s troops will be ruthless and will rack up the points.
Prediction: New Zealand by 35.
Suggested Bet: New Zealand -31.5 at 1.91.
England vs Japan
Saturday, 14 November – 18:40
England made quite the statement last weekend, putting the Wallabies to the sword.
The 45-22 win was a record tally against Australia, surpassing the 44-40 victory back in 2016 and easing the pressure on Steve Borthwick after the Red Rose won just three of their eight previous Tests this season.
Second in the Northern Hemisphere conference, England won’t take Japan lightly as they know Eddie Jones all too well and will want to squeeze every drop they can out of this fixture.
Bank on a big win for the English.
Prediction: England by 32.
Suggested Bet: England -31.5 at 1.85.
Ireland vs Fiji
Saturday, 14 November – 22:10
Ireland came out swinging to start the second leg of the competition last weekend, laying waste to Los Pumas.
They’re level with England on 15, but in third place due to points’ difference. Thus, they’ll go full tilt to score as many points as possible.
After starting his tenure as Fiji coach with a 34-28 win over Japan, Jake White watched his team go down 54-17 to France last weekend. He’ll be hoping for an improved performance, but at the end of the day, Ireland will romp to victory.
Prediction: Ireland by 30.
Suggested Bet: Ireland -26.5 at 1.87.
Scotland vs Australia
Sunday, 15 November – 17:10
If the clash at the Stade de France is the main event of the weekend, then this meeting at Murrayfield is the co-headliner.
Scotland are an extremely talented side who can challenge any team on any given day. Ranked sixth in the world, one place above Australia, they fired on all cylinders to take down England (31-20) and France (50-40) in this year’s Six Nations and gave the Boks and All Blacks problems before fading in the second half.
They went tit-for-tat with New Zealand in the first half last weekend, trailing just 24-21 at the break, but failed to trouble the scorers in the second 40 as they lost discipline and could no longer cope with the Kiwis physically. The 22-point loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the ambitious Scots, but summed up their eccentric nature.
That said, there were at least some positives, and they know that if they can stay disciplined, they can hang with the best of them. The Wallabies were woeful at Twickenham; they were never in the game and even the 45-22 scoreline, which doesn’t look good, flattered them.
It was their third heavy defeat in a row following the back-to-back Bledisloe Cup blowouts, and leaves them with not just plenty of questions about their quality but their character as well. They, at the very least, have to show more fight.
You won’t be wrong if you said this is a better stylistic matchup for them, and that they’re tied at 5-5 in their last 10 encounters seems to strengthen that point.
However, Scotland have won four of the last five, including a 27-13 triumph in the most recent meeting in 2024, and should compound Les Kiss and his charges’ woes.
Prediction: Scotland by 9.
Suggested Bet: Scotland -7.5 at 1.87.
Note: Odds are subject to change.
Quintin van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 20 years of experience.
