Antoine Dupont orchestrated a potent opening half that allowed France to build a 21-7 advantage through tries from their entire starting back three. South Africa launched a determined second-half assault with scores from Cobus Reinach and Malcolm Marx, aided by French yellow cards to Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and Regis Montagne. However, Jasper Wiese's 20-minute red card and Libbok's off-target conversion left the visitors trailing by two points. France's scramble defense stood firm in the dying moments, with Louis Bielle-Biarrey dislodging the ball and Dupont recovering it to preserve the win.
Key points
France sits six points clear at the top of the Northern Hemisphere standings heading into…: France sits six points clear at the top of the Northern Hemisphere standings heading into their match with Argentina.
South Africa must defeat Ireland next Saturday and rely on outside results to reach the N…: South Africa must defeat Ireland next Saturday and rely on outside results to reach the Nations Championship final.
Scramble defense and a crucial ball recovery by player of the match Antoine Dupont secure…: Scramble defense and a crucial ball recovery by player of the match Antoine Dupont secured the two-point victory.
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 first-half tries.
France's back three of Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Theo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey all crossed in a thrilling opening 40 minutes.
The Springboks' try came before Bielle-Biarrey's, with Jan-Hendrik Wessels scoring off the back of a maul.
Number eight Jasper Wiese was shown a 20-minute red card early in the second half for a tucked-shoulder charge, but it had the opposite effect to derailing the world champions.
Replacement scrum-half Cobus Reinach and hooker Malcolm Marx scored to set a thrilling finale, with South Africa's set-piece power proving too much.
Singapore authorities dismantled a major transnational illicit finance network after an intensive nine-month probe targeting illicit overseas gambling wealth. Convicted syndicate figure Vang Shuiming maintained a polite demeanor while repeatedly deflecting inquiries regarding the origins of his multimillion-dollar luxury assets. The sweeping enforcement action triggered deportations, permanent re-entry bans for dozens of foreign nationals, and updated supervisory guidelines across the city-state's financial sector.
A temporary telecommunications outage prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to halt all domestic departures and delay incoming landings across the United States. The nationwide stop immediately cascaded internationally, stranding passengers scheduled to cross the Pacific from major Australian transport hubs. Although American regulators have since canceled the flight freeze, investigators are still working to determine what triggered the system failure.
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