The sight this week of the French lineout rehearsing rapid call changes at their Marcoussis base and the hooker Dimitri Szarzewski working after hours on his throw shows that it is not just the Springboks' try-scoring wing Bryan Habana who is worrying them.
The locks Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield offered the Springboks a superb lineout platform against Wales, snaffling the home side's ball almost at will. They will be only too aware that France looked vulnerable in their first Test against Australia three weeks ago.
"This second row is the Springboks' hidden extra," the former Springbok secondrow Kobus Wiese told the newspaper L'Equipe this week. "They bring that little bit more to the team. They work well together and their skills complement each other."
"We are like brothers," says Botha. "We don't need to talk to understand each other."
Botha was relishing the prospect of taking on a significantly smaller France pack, 10 kilos lighter per man.
"There is nothing better than taking on the France forwards at home. It will be hard today. That's what I like on the pitch."
France also fear the Springbok rush defence, which approaches flat and at speed with the aim of forcing opponents into errors. It has created openings in particular for Habana, who scored two tries against Wales last week. It is a system unfamiliar to Les Bleus.
"Wasps defend in pretty much the same way, in your face all the time," said the only England-based starter tonight, Thomas Castaignede, who replaces the injured Julien Laharrague at fullback.
"I've suggested a couple of tactics that we've used at Saracens when we meet them. It's a defence system that obliges you to lie a lot deeper than usual."
Both sides go into their final Test of the autumn/winter unbeaten, the Springboks having defeated Argentina before putting Wales to the sword in their only appearance in Britain.
France blew Canada away, but never looked entirely convincing in taking the scalps of Australia and Tonga.
With Percy Montgomery avoiding a suspension following his red card in Cardiff - his tackle on the Welsh wing Shane Williams, for which he was sinbinned, having been deemed legitimate on appeal - Jake White has made just two changes to the side that overcame the Welsh.
Os du Randt comes into the frontrow and the France-based wing Breyton Paulse replaces Conrad Jantjes on the wing.
The suspension of their captain Fabien Pelous for elbowing the Australia hooker Brendan Cannon in their Test means that leadership of Les Bleus has passed to another lock, Jerome Thion.
Guardian Service
Replacements: 16. S Bruno, 17. S Marconnet, 18. G Lamboley,
19. T Lievremont, 20. P Mignoni, 21. Y Delaigue, 22. P Elhorga.
Replacements: 16. G Botha, 17. E Andrews, 18. A van der Berg,
19. D Rossouw, 20. B Conradie, 21. DW Barry, 22. C Jantjes.
Referee: Scott Young (Australia).
