France lose heavyweight for November showdown with Springboks

France and Toulouse second-row Emmanuel Meafou is set to be sidelined for up to three months after sustaining a knee injury against Vannes in the Top 14 on Saturday, French outlet La Depeche have reported.

The 28-year-old picked up the injury in the dying seconds of his side’s 29-23 win over the league’s newcomers following an illegal no-arms tackle by his France team-mate Rodrigue Neti.

La Depeche have reported the extent of the injury after the 145kg lock missed Toulouse’s open training session on Tuesday.

With fellow lock Clément Vergé already sidelined with an ACL injury, the French champions may be forced into recruiting a medical joker to ease the pressure on their squad until Meafou returns in December.

This injury is also a hammer blow to France head coach Fabien Galthié, who rarely excludes the Australian-born forward from his matchday squads.

Fixture

Nations Championship

France

12:10

13 Nov 26

South Africa

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France host Fiji, South Africa and Argentina in the Nations Championship in November, and Meafou’s sizeable frame would have been desired to counter the vaunted Springboks pack, which will take on Les Bleus in Paris on Friday, November 13.

That encounter with the world champions carries extra weight as it will be the last meeting between the two sides ahead of a potential World Cup semi-final in Australia in 2027.

France have only won one of their last 10 encounters with Rassie Erasmus’ side, and, crucially, are yet to exact revenge over the Boks for dumping them out of their home World Cup in 2023. Any hopes of achieving that have taken a hit with Meafou’s absence.

Toulouse, meanwhile, will be without Meafou for their Investec Champions Cup opening round encounter with Gallagher PREM finalists Exeter Chiefs on October 18. He will be in a race to return for the round two encounter with the Lions in Johannesburg on December 12.