Match Summary
- France: 21 points (Tries: Grandidier-Nkanang, Attissogbe, Bielle-Biarrey; Cons: Lucu 3)
- South Africa: 19 points (Tries: Wessels, Reinach, Marx; Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2)
France secured a dramatic 21-19 win over South Africa at the Stade de France, successfully ending a five-match losing run against the reigning world champions. The victory significantly boosts France’s position in the northern hemisphere standings and dents South Africa’s hopes of reaching the Nations Championship final. Highlights: France narrowly beat South Africa in thriller in Paris. Stunning scramble defence and sheer grit showed a side to the back-to-back Six Nations champions France that has often been questioned. Listen: Ford on selection, All Blacks aura & Eddie’s back.
The hosts dominated the opening 40 minutes, with tries from Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Theo Attissogbe, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. Captain Antoine Dupont, forced to operate as a makeshift fly-half due to injuries to Matthieu Jalibert, Romain Ntamack, and Antoine Hastoy, provided tactical brilliance, including a decisive grubber kick for Bielle-Biarrey’s score. Dupont wears 10 but excels from nine. Injuries to France’s three first-choice fly-halves – Matthieu Jalibert, Romain Ntamack and Antoine Hastoy – left France coach Fabien Galthie with little option but to deploy his captain and talismanic scrum-half at number 10. Despite wearing the France number 10 shirt for the first time, Dupont lined up at scrum-half, as Galthie played Rassie Erasmus, who had swapped his entire front row an hour before kick-off, at his own game. As a clever move sent Kalvin Gourgues through a gap, with Grandidier-Nkanang eventually crossing in the corner, it was an electric start from the hosts. With South Africa lock Lood de Jager in the sin-bin for a high tackle, gave France field position, before the ball cannoned off Gourgues’ head and Attissogbe crossed for a fortunate try, a monstrous left-footed 50:22 from Dupont. Before the Springboks turned to their scrum to regain control, tiredness and poor discipline made the game loose and chaotic.
South Africa responded with a try from Jan-Hendrik Wessels following a rolling maul. Although Kurt-Lee Arendse had a late first-half score disallowed for an offside, the visitors maintained their physicality. The match intensified in the second half, with Jasper Wiese receiving a 20-minute red card for a dangerous shoulder charge.
Despite being down to 14 men, South Africa found momentum through their set-piece.
Replacement scrum-half Cobus Reinach and hooker Malcolm Marx both crossed the line to narrow the gap.
However, Manie Libbok missed the crucial conversion for Marx’s try, which would have leveled the scores.
Libbok’s kicking performance proved costly in a tight contest reminiscent of the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. But Libbok – as at the 2023 World Cup – badly shanked a kick that will once again raise questions over his ability to deliver under pressure in the biggest Test matches, a draw would have felt a fair result given the contrasting nature of the two halves.
France faced immense pressure in the final ten minutes after replacement prop Regis Montagne was sent to the sin-bin. A vital defensive tackle from Bielle-Biarrey forced a turnover, allowing Dupont to secure the ball and help clinch the win. The result leaves France six points clear at the top of the northern hemisphere standings as they prepare to face Argentina next Saturday. Les Bleus, who are six points clear at the top of the northern hemisphere standings, now face Argentina next Saturday, putting them in a strong position to reach the inaugural final at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, 29 November.
For South Africa, the path to the final now looks more difficult. They remain in competition with Ireland and England for the top spot in the southern hemisphere, with a high-stakes trip to Dublin awaiting them next week. The world champions will likely need a result from England’s earlier fixture against New Zealand to keep their title aspirations alive.
The match was defined by contrasting halves, characterized by French creativity early on and South African power as the game progressed.
Discipline issues led to several cards, including a sin-binning for France’s Grandidier-Nkanang, which briefly swung momentum in favor of the visitors.
Ultimately, France’s defensive resilience held firm under a barrage of late scrum penalties.
- South Africa (7) 19.
