Overall Statistics Between France & Springboks

The Springboks have met the French on the rugby field numerous times in their history (tomorrow will be the 39th time) and it has been a close battle on several occasions. Will it be a close affair come Saturday night at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, 22h00 local time?

Here follows the overall stats for the rivalry between the Springboks and France:

Details[1]	Played	Won by  France	Won by  South Africa	Drawn	France points	South Africa points
In France	17	5	11	1	246	326
In South Africa	21	6	10	5	322	438
Neutral venue	0	0	0	0	0	0
Overall	38	11	21	6	568	764

Date	Venue	Score	Victor	Comments
23 November 2013	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	–		2013 end-of-year test
12 June 2010	Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa	42 – 17	South Africa	2010 mid-year test
13 November 2009	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France	20 – 13	France	2009 end of year rugby union tests
24 June 2006	Newlands, Cape Town	26 – 36	France	2006 mid-year test
26 November 2005	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	15 – 20	France	2005 Autumn International
25 June 2005	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa	27 – 13	South Africa
18 June 2005	ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa	30 – 30	draw
9 November 2002	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	30 – 10	France
10 November 2001	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	20 – 10	France
23 June 2001	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	20 – 15	South Africa
16 June 2001	Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa	23 – 32	France
22 November 1997	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	10 – 52	South Africa
15 November 1997	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	32 – 36	South Africa
7 December 1996	Parc des Princes, Paris,	12 – 13	South Africa
30 November 1996	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux, France	12 – 22	South Africa
17 June 1995	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	19 – 15	South Africa
3 July 1993	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	17 – 18	France
26 June 1993	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	20 – 20	draw
24 October 1992	Parc des Princes, Paris	29 – 16	France
17 October 1992	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	15 – 20	South Africa
8 November 1980	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa	37 – 15	South Africa
28 June 1975	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria	33 – 18	South Africa
21 June 1975	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa	38 – 25	South Africa
30 November 1974	Parc des Princes, Paris	8 – 10	South Africa
23 November 1974	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France	4 – 13	South Africa
19 June 1971	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	8 – 8	draw
12 June 1971	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein	22 – 9	South Africa
16 November 1968	Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes, France	11 – 16	South Africa
9 November 1968	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	9 – 12	South Africa
12 August 1967	Newlands, Cape Town	6 – 6	draw
29 July 1967	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	14 – 19	France
22 July 1967	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein	16 – 3	South Africa
15 July 1967	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	26 – 3	South Africa
25 July 1964	Pam Brink Stadium, Springs, South Africa	6 – 8	France
18 February 1961	Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes	0 – 0	draw
16 August 1958	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	5 – 9	France
26 July 1958	Newlands, Cape Town	3 – 3	draw
16 February 1952	Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes	3 – 25	South Africa
11 January 1913	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	5 – 38	South Africa

Remember James Dalton?

Ex-springbok hooker, James Dalton, used to be one of South Africa's past bad-boys on the rugby field and was infamously thrown out of Rugby World Cup 1995 after being involved in a huge punch-up against Canada in Port Elizabeth. It was fittingly dubbed "The Battle of Boet Erasmus".

James recently spoke to Sports24 and responded to questions from fans regarding the current Springbok team, Heineke Meyer, and the problems in the scrums.

Dalton feels that Heineke Meyer is the right man for the job of leading us to 2015 World Cup Rugby glory in the UK. He refers to the performance record of the current Bok team under Meyer's leadership, which speaks for itself. The Sports-Man agrees fully with Dalton on this point!

Furthermore, he feels that the main reason the Boks are still trailing the All Blacks is because they do not play a full 80 minutes of quality rugby. That, according to Dalton, is where the All Blacks still have the edge. 

James Dalton rates Bismarck du Plessis highly and does not think that any other hooker comes close to his stand-out abilities and work rate. He does add that, and I agree again, that Strauss is an extremely good hooker in his own right, while he is very impressed with Scarra Ntubeni from the Sromers and Western Province. 

In regards to the scrums in the modern game, James adds that it is clear that selecting the biggest pack of forwards and opting for the old fashioned dominating tight-head are no longer as important. Teams are preferring forwards with more skills and ball carrying abilities, compared to how it was when he played. He feels that most of the problems are actually coming in the form of the referees who are exceedingly inconsistent when it comes to scrum-time. Last weekends performance by referee Alain Rolland got some flack from Dalton, as it has from most Wales and Bok supporters. 

What are your best / worst memories of James Dalton? Share them with us and give your personal views on his above responses?