'The French have to beat them in November'

Former England scrum-half Ben Youngs believes France must overcome South Africa in November if they are to remove what he sees as a growing psychological barrier against the world champions ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

The 127-cap England international was reflecting on Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry on his For the Love of Rugby podcast this week after the Springboks completed a 3-1 series victory over the All Blacks.

Youngs believes Rassie Erasmus’ side remain “head and shoulders” above much of the Test landscape when at their best, pointing to the variety of ways they are able to win matches.

He nevertheless identified New Zealand, France and Ireland as the three teams capable of challenging the Boks, although he feels France’s recent record against South Africa has created a mental hurdle that now needs to be cleared.

Fabien Galthie’s side host the Boks on Friday, November 13, during the Northern Hemisphere Series of the Nations Championship, and Youngs believes that a lot is riding on that match for Les Bleus a year out from the World Cup in Australia.

England were notably absent from that group, with Youngs arguing that Steve Borthwick’s side may be capable of producing one major performance, but remain some way short of stringing together the elite displays required at the business end of a World Cup.

“Right now, the Boks are head and shoulders above a lot of teams. When they are on song, they have multiple ways of winning.

“I think New Zealand have shown that they can live with them, they can compete, but have fallen short. Give them another 12 months, they can close the gap a little bit, I think. It’s going to come down to set-piece. Can they close the gap in those areas?

“I think the French can. They can definitely compete, but they have a psychological barrier when it comes to the Boks, and it’s something that they just cannot get over right now. For me, the French have to beat them in November. They have to beat them in November. If they don’t, that psychological barrier will be there come the World Cup, and therefore it’s a hurdle they just cannot overcome.

“And I think Ireland have shown that when they put it together on their day, are in that mix. So they’re the four teams to me.

“I don’t have [England] in that conversation. Could they bring a one-off game? Yeah, of course they could. But in the World Cup, we know you’ve got to do it, depending on what side of the draw you are, you still got to do it at least twice, two weeks in a row.

“You might get out your pool, last 16, you might have what’s deemed an easier quarter-final, but by the time you get to semis and finals, you’ve got to put two good performances in a row, like elite performances. And I think the gap at the moment is too big.”