Romain Ntamack was not on the pitch when Les Bleus last met South Africa just over two years ago, having been denied a starring role at the home World Cup by a knee ligament injury the previous summer. The Toulouse fly-half was nevertheless as affected as anyone by the one-point quarter-final defeat by the Springboks, which brought France’s ambitions to an abrupt and sobering end.

“The trauma from that match went beyond the 23 players who were on the team sheet,” the 26-year-old said before this weekend’s rematch, which kicks off the autumn campaign for both sides. “We’ve moved on since then, though, and we’re fully focused on Saturday’s match.”

After an underwhelming summer campaign in New Zealand that yielded three defeats in as many tests, France also have a more immediate point to prove. “We’re playing against the double world champions, so it’ll be a big challenge whatever happens,” Ntamack added. “Never mind the final result, we have to use this match to help us progress and gain experience as a team on our journey to the [2027] World Cup.”

This time, it’s Antoine Dupont who will be the glaring absentee for Les Bleus, as the scrum-half recovers from a knee ligament rupture of his own which he sustained against Ireland in March. That has not stopped the Olympic champion from joining his international teammates in training this week, as he eyes a return to match fitness by the end of the calendar year. A contract extension with Toulouse until 2031, which he signed in front of the unexpecting Rouge et noir fans at last week’s match against Stade Français, has in any case secured his long-term future close to the France setup.

In Dupont’s absence, the quasi-centurion Gaël Fickou will be captaining the team over the next few weeks. The 31-year-old, who was also captain during this summer’s series in New Zealand, was next in line after Fabien Galthié dropped the usual stand-in Grégory Alldritt from the squad altogether.

“He’s seen it all with the French team, through the highs and the lows”, Nolann Le Garrec said of Fickou this week, inadvertently confirming the captaincy would go to his former club teammate before the team was announced on Thursday morning. “It’s great that he can have the opportunity to captain the team. He did it this summer in New Zealand around a young team and now he can do so with more leaders by his side.”

Gaël Fickou runs at Fletcher Newell during the Test match between New Zealand and France earlier in the summer. Photograph: Peter Meecham/Photosport/AP

Midway through his second World Cup cycle, Galthié has tried to build around the mainstays of his time in charge so far, rather than opting for a complete upheaval. Six of France’s starters in the 2023 quarter-final defeat will be involved this weekend, a figure that would be higher were it not for the injury absences of Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, and Dupont.

While 10 of the 42 initially called up a few weeks ago were uncapped, the team Galthié announced on Thursday is more familiar. Only two of this summer’s newcomers, the props Régis Montagne and Baptiste Erdocio, have held on to their spots from the New Zealand tour. “We have an average of around 30 caps across the team,” the head coach said to Sud Ouest last month. “We’re not starting from zero.”

The former scrum-half also said that both occasions he has faced South Africa as head coach were close-run affairs, alluding to the 30-26 win in Marseille in 2022. “Maybe it would be better to beat them in a hypothetical match in two years’ time, rather than the one coming up,” he quipped. “That’s not the objective, though. We’re unbeaten in three autumn series, and our ambition is to continue to perform.”

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Romain Ntamack feels ‘freer and happier’ ahead of France’s Test match against New Zealand, having yet to play while fully fit ‘in a while’. Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

While Galthié was adamant two years ago that he had picked the right setup to bring down the Springboks, there is a sense that Les Bleus are addressing the shortcomings that precipitated the defeat. In particular, capturing high balls was the focus of Wednesday’s training session, with the team hoping to turn kicking phases in their favour. “It’s a real weapon for us,” said Ntamack. “It’s an area of the game we can’t ignore, we need to be able to put the pressure on them.”

Le Garrec, who replaces Dupont in the starting XV, will be facing the Springboks for the first time in his international career. “They’re crafty, they’re capable of coming up with unexpected things,” was his assessment, while also highlighting that his former teammate Siya Kolisi will have a point to prove on his return to Paris after an unceremonious exit from Racing 92.

While the Six Nations champions have played down the mental significance of a rematch of 2023, there’s no escaping the fact that this will be the major test of the wider progress made since then. Ntamack, in any case, is optimistic: “I haven’t had the chance to play in the autumn internationals at full fitness in a while. I feel freer and happier, and I hope that will show.”

A win in Paris on Saturday may be the final step to overcoming the “trauma” of the World Cup defeat.