# France hold nerve to edge past South Africa in thriller

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/france-hold-nerve-to-edge-past-south-africa-in-thriller/
- Published: 2026-11-13T23:03:36+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T23:22:48+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cqm2j810r2m2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Africa, Europe, Sport, World

## Key points

- France edged South Africa 21-19 in Paris.
- Three first-half tries gave France their winning platform.
- The result boosts France’s Nations Championship final hopes.

## Summary

France beat South Africa 21-19 in Paris, ending a five-match losing run against the world champions. The win strengthens France’s position to top the northern hemisphere standings and dents South Africa’s chances of reaching the Nations Championship final.

France scored all their points before half-time, with tries from Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Theo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. South Africa replied through Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Reinach and Malcolm Marx, but Manie Libbok missed the conversion that would have levelled the score. France captain Antoine Dupont was named player of the match; the side are six points clear and face Argentina next Saturday.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.