France resist Springboks’ second-half rearguard to win Paris thriller

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France beat the Springboks 21-19 (halftime 21-7) in a pulsating Nations Championship clash at Stade de France on ...

France beat the Springboks 21-19 (halftime 21-7) in a pulsating Nations Championship clash at Stade de France on Friday.

The Springboks have made a habit of winning tight games against the odds over the past eight years, but at a raucous Stade de France on Friday 13 November, they were unable to conjure another great escape despite a forceful second-half comeback.

France edged the Boks by two points, while failing to score a point in the second half. In the process Les Bleus also survived three yellow cards, playing 28 minutes of the second half with 14 men.

Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu, wing Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and prop Régis Montagne were carded to increase the anxiety of the 80,000 plus crowd.

It was the French national team’s first win in Paris over the Boks since 2005 and only their second win in their last 11 matches against South Africa (SA).

The outcome leaves the Boks in danger of not qualifying for the Nations Championship final, even though Rassie Erasmus’s men still lead the southern hemisphere standings on 21 points.

The All Blacks though, are undefeated and have matches against Wales and England to come. The Boks face Ireland in Dublin next week.

While the Boks will rue not being able to conjure another great comeback, the reality was they made far too many errors to expect more.

Perhaps the first mistake was in the coaching box, when Rassie Erasmus swapped his entire front row before kick-off – as he had done against the All Blacks earlier this year.

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