France defeats South Africa 21-19 at Stade de France
France defeated South Africa 21-19 at the Stade de France, handing the double world champions a narrow loss during the fifth round of the Nations Championship.
The victory contrasted sharply with pre-match expectations. Observers promised the team “hell” against Rassie Erasmus’s squad, but the hosts built a 21-7 halftime lead before holding off a furious second-half surge.
Head coach Fabien Galthié maintained a false trail throughout the week regarding the team sheet. Antoine Dupont started at his usual scrum-half position, guiding the side from the opening whistle.
The early pressure paid off in the 15th minute. Maxime Lucu found Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang on the wing for the opening try, which Lucu converted for a 7-0 lead, as reported by La Nouvelle République.
Théo Attissogbe added a second try nine minutes later after catching an inadvertent header from Kalvin Gourgues, stretching the lead to 14-0. Jan-Hendrik Wessels put South Africa on the board in the 30th minute with a driving maul.
Peato Mauvaka sliced through the Springbok defense shortly after, kicking ahead for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to secure France’s third try. Lucu added the extras to make it 21-7.
A yellow card shown to Lucu just before halftime forced France to play with fourteen men after the break. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu capitalized on the man advantage, scoring between the posts in the 51st minute to narrow the gap to 21-14.
Frustration mounted as France turned down kickable penalties to chase tries in the corner. Lucu missed a 67th-minute penalty attempt that would have pushed the lead beyond a single score.
Malcolm Marx crashed over from another driving maul in the 72nd minute. Though the conversion missed, leaving the score at 21-19, the dynamics were not very good as the final minutes were played.
The final eight minutes played out under immense pressure as the defense repelled wave after wave of green shirts. The team held on to secure the result at the final whistle.
Match referee M. Piardi oversaw the fixture.
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Earlier coverage: France Beat South Africa 21-19 in Nations Championship Clash