South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus says he expects France skipper and scrumhalf Antoine Dupont to back to his mercurial best when the Springboks face France on Sunday.

Sunday’s last RWC quarter-final sees the reigning champions take on the tournament hosts and one of the biggest talking points ahead of the game is the return from injury of the talismanic Dupont.

Dupont fractured a bone in his face during the pool clash against Namibia which forced him to undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the pool games. But he is back and ready to play and Erasmus says he doesn’t anticipate the number nine showing any side-effects from the lay-off.

Speaking to the media Erasmus said: “I think a lack of fitness won’t be a problem for him.

“I have actually never seen him sweat on the field, he’s so emotionless when he plays. He always looks so in control, obviously him being the captain.

“The whole of France, the whole world, has respect for him. I broke my jaw three times, and you can actually get leaner because you can’t eat. The next thing is you can’t run. He is definitely a guy who is not afraid to tackle, he’s a guy whose kicking and passing is still good.

“He’s a guy, when he goes into a Test match, he’ll still do his tackles because it has been three weeks, his surgeon cleared him.

“I have no doubt he will play, and it will be a big challenge for us to try to contain him.”