France hold nerve to edge past South Africa in thriller

Tries: Grandidier-Nkanang, Attissogbe, Bielle-Biarrey Cons: Lucu (3)

Tries: Wessels, Reinach, Marx Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2)

France held on to end their five-match losing run against South Africa at Stade de France with an enthralling 21-19 victory in Paris.

The victory dents the world champions' hopes of reaching the Nations Championship final and puts Les Bleus in a strong position to top the northern hemisphere standings.

The hosts, inspired by their captain Antoine Dupont, showed their class and skill to score three tries in a frantic first half.

France's back three of Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Theo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey all crossed in a thrilling opening 40 minutes, with Jan-Hendrik Wessels scoring off the back of a maul for the visitors.

The Springboks thought they had a second try on the stroke of half-time but Kurt-Lee Arendse's try was chalked off after he strayed marginally offside.

Number eight Jasper Wiese was shown a 20-minute red card early in the second half - the third of five cards shown in an incident-packed game - for a dangerous shoulder charge, but it had the opposite effect to derailing the world champions.

With South Africa's set-piece power proving too much, replacement scrum-half Cobus Reinach and hooker Malcolm Marx scored to set up a thrilling finale.

However, Manie Libbok missed the vital conversion to Marx's try that would have levelled the game.

With South Africa pushing for a winning score, Bielle-Biarrey produced a huge defensive tackle to force the ball loose, before Dupont, who was named player of the match, gathered possession to help seal the victory.

The result will come as a blow to both England and Ireland, who are in direct competition with France for a place in the Nations Championship final at the end of the month.

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.

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.

It was an electric start from the hosts, as a clever move sent Kalvin Gourgues through a gap, with Grandidier-Nkanang eventually crossing in the corner.

A monstrous left-footed 50:22 from Dupont, 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.

Dupont supplied more magic, grubber kicking through on his stronger right foot for Bielle-Biarrey to race over.

South Africa's power told as they scored their opening try from a maul, before Erasmus changed his entire front row again, five minutes before half-time.

Creativity, intensity and physicality - it was a first game that felt remarkably similar to the epic quarter-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris.

Despite losing Wiese to a 20-minute red card early in the second half, the world champions took advantage of Grandidier-Nkanang's sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on.

Tiredness and poor discipline made the game loose and chaotic, before the Springboks turned to their scrum to regain control.

A succession of scrum penalties resulted in another sin-bin, with replacement France prop Regis Montagne yellow carded as the hosts were left clinging on for the final 10 minutes.

Stunning scramble defence and sheer grit showed a side to the back-to-back Six Nations champions France that has often been questioned.

Despite their scrum crumbling, France held firm, continuing to chase kicks and compete for loose balls.

A draw would have felt a fair result given the contrasting nature of the two halves, 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.

For once, the fine margins went against South Africa, who won every knockout game of the last World Cup by a point.

They face Ireland in Dublin next Saturday and will now likely need a favour from England, who take on New Zealand earlier that same day, if they are to reclaim top spot in the southern hemisphere standings.