France scrumhalf Nolann Le Garrec said on Wednesday said he was grateful for the presence of injured superstar Antoine Dupont in training before this weekend's game with South Africa.
Dupont is still recovering from a serious knee injury suffered in March but has been present with Les Bleus' squad in the build-up to Saturday's Autumn Nations Series encounter in Paris.
The 28-year-old Olympic champion is set to return playing next month with his club Toulouse, after France play the Springboks, Fiji and Australia.
Le Garrec, 23, is expected to start instead of Dupont at half-back with Maxime Lucu on the bench in a re-run of the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, won by the Springboks on the way to their fourth title.
"If it's Antoine or even Max Lucu, we discuss a lot off the field in general," Le Garrec told reporters.
"It's always good advice from Antoine and Max.
"With all of their qualities, they help me a lot," he added.
La Rochelle's Le Garrec is set to be joined at half-back by Dupont's club teammate Romain Ntamack, as they start an international together for the first time.
Brittany-born Le Garrec made his test debut in 2024, having trained with the squad more than a year earlier alongside the experienced Ntamack.
"It's great to play alongside Romain," Le Garrec said.
"We have the same vision of the game.
"We try experience things fully to help the team play as well as possible," he added.
'TRAUMATIC'
Dupont's absence also leaves a gap in the captaincy role, with Racing 92 centre Gael Fickou in line to skipper the side.
Fickou, 31, will lead the Six Nations champions on his 97th international appearance, as he did during July's tour of New Zealand.
"He has incredible experience," Le Garrec said of his former Racing teammate.
"He's experienced it all with France, the highs and the lows.
"He's very consistent and stable.
"It's great that he gets the chance to captain the team," he added.
The meeting at the Stade de France offers Fabien Galthie's side a revenge for the loss two years ago, which denied them a shot at glory on home soil.
Le Garrec was not selected for the World Cup, while Ntamack missed the tournament with a knee injury.
"We weren't involved in the quarterfinal, but I think it was traumatic for more than the matchday 23," Ntamack told reporters.
"I think since then we've moved on.
"We're focused on this match in 2025 and we hope to start our November campaign well," the 26-year-old added.