On a November evening at the Stade de France in Paris, France outlasted South Africa 21-19 in a match that ran through fire and fury before a single missed kick decided it. It is the sort of contest that reminds us how thin the margin is between a triumph and a near miss, and how a team's composure can outweigh its brilliance. For France, it ends a long run of defeats to the world champions and tightens their grip on the northern standings as they look toward the inaugural Nations Championship final.
France hold their nerve to edge South Africa 21-19 and end five-match losing streak
For once, the fine margins went against South Africa
Mark
Five straight losses to South Africa, and France finally win. What made the difference?
Mimi
The first half. Three tries from the back three, Grandidier-Nkanang, Attissogbe and Bielle-Biarrey, and Dupont involved in the creation of them.
Mark
Dupont wore 10 but played scrum-half. Why?
Mimi
All three first-choice fly-halves, Jalibert, Ntamack and Hastoy, were injured, so Galthie put the number 10 shirt on his captain without really moving him.
Luke
Worth being careful there. The report says he lined up at scrum-half in practice. It doesn't tell us how Galthie weighed the decision beyond the injuries.
Mark
Then Wiese gets a red card and South Africa come back anyway.
Mimi
Yes, 20 minutes, for a dangerous shoulder charge. Reinach and Marx scored, and the scrum won penalties, one of which led to Montagne's yellow card.
Luke
The source says the red card had the opposite effect to derailing them. That's the reporter's reading. What we can confirm is the sequence: the card, then two tries.
Mark
And Libbok's miss?
Mimi
The conversion to Marx's try would have levelled it. He shanked it, as he did at the 2023 World Cup.
Luke
Though the doubts about him under pressure are the writer's framing, not a fact about his ability. It's one kick, though a costly one.
Mark
What's next?
Mimi
France play Argentina, South Africa play Ireland in Dublin, and the final is on 29 November.
El Pulso
- France raced to three first-half tries while Antoine Dupont, wearing the number 10 shirt with no fly-halves fit to play, pulled the strings from scrum-half.
- Jasper Wiese's early red card for a dangerous shoulder charge tipped the game into chaos, with five cards shown in total.
- South Africa's scrum kept grinding France backwards until replacement scrum-half Cobus Reinach and hooker Malcolm Marx crossed for late tries.
- Manie Libbok shanked the conversion that could have drawn the game, and France clung on as Bielle-Biarrey's tackle forced the ball loose and Dupont gathered it.
- France now face Argentina with a place in the final on 29 November at stake, while South Africa must travel to Dublin and hope England slip.
On a November evening at the Stade de France in Paris, France outlasted South Africa 21-19 in a match that ran through fire and fury before a single missed kick decided it. It is the sort of contest that reminds us how thin the margin is between a triumph and a near miss, and how a team's composure can outweigh its brilliance. For France, it ends a long run of defeats to the world champions and tightens their grip on the northern standings as they look toward the inaugural Nations Championship final.
France beat South Africa 21-19 at the Stade de France, ending a run of five straight defeats against the world champions. It was a frantic, card-heavy match that came down to one missed conversion.
France scored all three of their tries in the first half. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and Theo Attissogbe crossed after South Africa were reduced to 14 men by a sin-bin, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey finished a grubber kick from Dupont. Dupont's role was a story in itself: with Jalibert, Ntamack and Hastoy all injured, coach Fabien Galthie gave his captain the number 10 shirt, though he played mostly at scrum-half. He was named player of the match.
South Africa answered through a maul finished by Jan-Hendrik Wessels, and Rassie Erasmus reshuffled his front row twice to find a grip. The second half turned on discipline. Jasper Wiese was sent off for a dangerous shoulder charge, yet South Africa seemed sharpened rather than broken. Their scrum took over, and late tries from Cobus Reinach and Malcolm Marx brought them within a whisker.
Libbok, on as a replacement, had the chance to level the game with Marx's conversion but shanked it, a miss that will revive questions about his nerve. France survived the final minutes through stubborn defence, with Bielle-Biarrey's tackle forcing a loose ball that Dupont gathered. France now face Argentina with a place in the final at stake, while South Africa travel to Dublin hoping England slip.
France beat South Africa 21-19 at the Stade de France in Paris, ending a run of five straight defeats against the world champions. The Nations Championship match was frantic and card-heavy, and it was decided by one missed conversion.
France's three tries all came in the first half. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang scored in the corner after a clever move sent Kalvin Gourgues through a gap. Theo Attissogbe added a second after Antoine Dupont's left-footed 50:22 gave France field position while South Africa lock Lood de Jager was in the sin-bin for a high tackle. The ball then cannoned off Gourgues' head before Attissogbe crossed, a fortunate try by any measure. Dupont set up the third himself, grubber-kicking with his stronger right foot for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to race over. Thomas Lucu converted all three.
Dupont's role was itself part of the story. Injuries to France's three first-choice fly-halves, Matthieu Jalibert, Romain Ntamack and Antoine Hastoy, left coach Fabien Galthie with little choice. He gave his captain the number 10 shirt for the first time, but Dupont played at scrum-half in practice. He was named player of the match.
South Africa's reply in the first half came from a maul, finished by Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Rassie Erasmus changed his entire front row an hour before kick-off and then again five minutes before half-time. The Springboks believed they had a second try on the stroke of the interval, but Kurt-Lee Arendse's effort was chalked off for being marginally offside. The first half felt much like the epic 2023 World Cup quarter-final in Paris, with creativity, intensity and physicality.
The second half turned on discipline. Number eight Jasper Wiese was shown a 20-minute red card early on, in the 43rd minute, for a dangerous shoulder charge. It was the third of five cards in the game. Rather than derailing South Africa, it seemed to sharpen them. They exploited Grandidier-Nkanang's sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, and as tiredness and poor discipline made the match loose, they turned to their scrum.
A succession of scrum penalties led to another sin-bin, for replacement prop Regis Montagne, and France had to cling on for the final 10 minutes. Replacement scrum-half Cobus Reinach and hooker Malcolm Marx scored, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu converting two tries. Manie Libbok, on as a replacement, then missed the conversion to Marx's try that would have levelled the game. As at the 2023 World Cup, he badly shanked the kick, and it will again raise questions about his ability to deliver under pressure in the biggest Tests. South Africa won every knockout game at that World Cup by a single point; this time the margin went against them.
France still had to finish the job. With the Springboks pushing for a winning score, Bielle-Biarrey made a huge defensive tackle to force the ball loose, and Dupont gathered it to help seal the win. Even with their scrum crumbling, the back-to-back Six Nations champions chased kicks, competed for loose balls and defended stubbornly, showing a side of themselves that has often been questioned. A draw would have been a fair result given the contrasting halves.
The result dents South Africa's hopes of reaching the Nations Championship final and is a blow to England and Ireland, who are competing with France for a place in it. France are six points clear at the top of the northern hemisphere standings and face Argentina next Saturday, with the inaugural final at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, 29 November in view. South Africa travel to Dublin to face Ireland and will likely need England, who play New Zealand earlier that day, to slip if they are to reclaim top spot in the southern hemisphere standings.
Citas Notables
France's captain Antoine Dupont, wearing 10 for the first time but playing at scrum-half, was named player of the match.— BBC News match report
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