PARIS - South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said on Thursday that he is expecting France's experienced half-backs to interchange during their Nations Championship clash in Paris.
France head coach Fabien Galthie caused a bit of a surprise on Wednesday by naming captain Antoine Dupont at fly-half with Maxime Lucu at scrum-half.
Both players are scrum-halves and most people expected them to line up the other way around in the face of France's fly-half crisis, which sees them shorn of their four first-choice players in that position.
"The nine-10 position, that's where it's going to get tricky," said Stick.
"I have no doubt at all that even though Dupont will be wearing the number 10 jersey, he's going to have a licence for sure to do whatever he wants to do between that nine-10 channel.
"Remember also, Lucu has covered the 10 position in the past.
"So, I think between the two of them, there's probably going to be a good freedom for them to keep swapping positions in the sense of general play.
"We're going to see probably more of Antoine Dupont at the breakdowns at nine.
"We're going to see Lucu sometimes at first receiver. So, that's where it's going to become tricky."
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi said it was no surprise to see Dupont picked at 10 given the adaptability of many modern rugby players.
"I think it's a normal thing in rugby," said Kolisi, pointing to South African midfielder Andre Esterhuizen who sometimes plays in the back row.
"He's also played in the position before for his club," Kolisi added of Dupont.
"He's a good enough player to do that, and he's shown that over the years."
Galthie mentioned on Wednesday how little time and space South Africa afford opposition teams, and Stick acknowledged that it is a key component in their arsenal.
"If you're going to play against the best in the world, guys like Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, if you give those guys time and space, they will punish you," said Stick.
"The key thing for us is to make sure that we really don't give them that space.
"You don't want to allow teams to get on top of you, especially now playing with the two playmakers like Lucu and Dupont.
"Dupont with momentum will stay on top of you, and he's very, very good at making good decisions under pressure.
"And you've got a guy on the other side, Lucu, who's probably one of the best in game management. He's got also a good kicking game."
- AFP