France 21–19 South Africa: Les Bleus hold on at the Stade de France for a first home win over the Springboks since 2005
France beat South Africa 21–19 at the Stade de France on Friday night in the Nations Championship, their first win over the Springboks at the venue since 2005. Three converted tries in the first half — from Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Théo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey — put France 21–7 up at the break, and they held on as South Africa scored twice more after half-time and Manie Libbok missed the late conversion that would have levelled it. Captain Antoine Dupont, pressed into the fly-half jersey by injuries, was named Player of the Match.
Key points
- France 21–19 South Africa at the Stade de France — a first home win over the Springboks since 2005.
- Three converted tries in 17 first-half minutes put France 21–7 ahead; South Africa won the second half but fell two points short.
- Antoine Dupont, pressed into the fly-half jersey by injuries, was named Player of the Match.
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- Manie Libbok's missed conversion of Malcolm Marx's 72nd-minute try left South Africa two points behind at the end.
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What happened
France came into the match with a long injury list, including four fly-halves, and named captain Antoine Dupont at number 10. They scored three tries in the first half and led 21–7 at the break, then did not score again as South Africa's power game took over the second half.
South Africa's tries all came from their forward power — two hookers, Wessels and Marx, and replacement scrum-half Reinach — and a late scrum gave them one final chance, ended when Dupont went to ground on a loose ball and Lucu kicked the ball out.
Match facts — all verified
- ✓ VerifiedFrance beat South Africa 21–19 at the Stade de France on Friday 13 November in the Nations Championship, leading 21–7 at half-time — France's first win over the Springboks at the venue since 2005, and only their second win in the last 11 meetings.Reuters — France stun South Africa 21-19 in Nations Championship (13 Nov 2026) · Sky Sports — Nations Championship: France 21-19 South Africa (13 Nov 2026)
- ✓ VerifiedFrance's tries came from Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang (15 minutes), Théo Attissogbe (24) and Louis Bielle-Biarrey (32), all three converted by Maxime Lucu; South Africa's tries came from Jan-Hendrik Wessels (30), Cobus Reinach (51) and Malcolm Marx (72), with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converting the first two.Sky Sports — France 21-19 South Africa score summary (13 Nov 2026) · RugbyPass — Antoine Dupont leads France to first win over Springboks in Paris for 21 years (13 Nov 2026)
- ✓ VerifiedAntoine Dupont, named at fly-half because four French fly-halves were injured, was named Player of the Match; Manie Libbok missed the conversion of Marx's late try that would have drawn South Africa level.Reuters — France stun South Africa 21-19 in Nations Championship (13 Nov 2026) · Planet Rugby — France v Springboks: five takeaways (13 Nov 2026)
- ✓ VerifiedThe win keeps France top of the Northern Hemisphere standings in the Nations Championship on 21 points; South Africa, in their first defeat of the tournament, stay top of the Southern Hemisphere table, also on 21 points.Reuters — France stun South Africa 21-19 in Nations Championship (13 Nov 2026)
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The result, the scorers and the Player of the Match award are settled across the match reports.
- It was South Africa's first defeat of this Nations Championship.
What we don't know yet
- The updated World Rugby rankings — the official update is published on Monday, and projections in the reports read differ, so no new ranking is carried here.