France ended a 21-year wait to win over South Africa at the Stade de France on Friday night, surviving a second-half Springbok onslaught to claim a dramatic 21-19 Nations Championship victory in Paris.
Fabien Galthie’s side were magnificent for long periods of a breathless and bruising contest and fully deserved their 21-7 lead at half-time, only to spend much of the second period desperately hanging on as the world champions threatened a remarkable comeback.
With injuries forcing Antoine Dupont into the number 10 jersey, the France captain put on a masterclass, pulling the strings behind the game in a first half that left the Springboks in shock.
The visitors suffered an early setback when Lood de Jager was booked for a thunderous challenge on Maxime Lucu, and France quickly made their numerical advantage count.
Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang opened the scoring in the 14th minute, finishing sharply in the corner after initially being denied by some ferocious Bok defending. Luca converted to make it 7-0 before France struck again moments later.
After Antoine Dupont created the platform with 50:22, Theo Attissogbe was the quickest to react when the loose ball deflected off the hapless Kalvin Gourgues, the full-back slotting home a try that owed as much to opportunism as it did to a brilliant attack.
South Africa responded through Jan-Hendrik Wessel and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion to reduce the deficit to 14-7, but France played some of their best rugby of the campaign.
The Frenchman’s third try was an easy choice. Peato Mauvaka, after a late pre-match substitution, broke through the middle before Dupont produced a perfectly timed shot for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to collect and finish in the corner. Lucu’s excellent conversion on the touchline extended the lead to 21-7.
The home side then survived a major scare just before the break when Kurt-Lee Arendse raced over after a lineout error, only for the TMO to intervene and record the score.
If the first half belonged to France, the second half belonged almost entirely to South Africa.
Jasper Wiese was shown a red card shortly after the restart, but France seemed to lose their composure. Grandidier-Nkanang was booked for a deliberate knock, and Luca’s costly penalty miss in the 66th minute left the door wide open.
The Springboks took their chance. Cobus Reinach struck first before Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion reduced the deficit to seven points. France were further hampered when Regis Montagne saw yellow and Malcolm Marx then converted from a famous South African kick in the 71st minute to set up a two-point game that led to a frantic finale.
France somehow held firm in the closing stages, with Francois Cros hitting a crucial late strike and world number one Dupont once again leading from the front to record a rare victory over the Boks.
France: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Antoine Dupont (captain), 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Cameron Guilla Croia, 7 Cameron Francio Woo6 54 Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Netti, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Axel Desperes, 23 Emilien Gailleton.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Siep Kosi, 5 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.
Referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)