France vs South Africa LIVE rugby: Result and reaction as Les Bleus snatch thrilling win from remarkable Test
France 30-26 South Africa: Les Bleus snatched victory as both teams had a man sent off in an incredible Test match
France extended their impressive winning run to 12 games as they tamed South Africa 30-26 at the Stade Velodrome after a nail-biting contest.
Les Bleus had scrum-half Antoine Dupont sent off in the second half after the world champions were also reduced to 14 men following Pieter-Steph du Toit’s early exclusion.
But a strong finish, with a late try by forward Sipili Falatea and a last-gasp penalty by Thomas Ramos, earned Fabien Galthie’s side another win a week after they edged out Australia 30-29 in Paris.
South Africa were always close thanks to penalties by Cheslin Kolbe, as well as tries from Siya Kolisi and Kurt-Lee Arendse, but France were just a cut above, less than a year before they host the World Cup.
Relive all the action from France vs South Africa with our live blog below:
France vs South Africa
There’s just one game left today but what a game it is! Six Nations winners France take on reigning world champions South Africa in Marseille, Yes please!
We’ve got live coverage of the game, starting with the team news.
Justin Tipuric discusses Wales’s win
Wales skipper Justin Tipuric has discussed the victory with Prime Video.
“It's a lot nicer winning, that's for sure,” he admitted. “We knew after last week we'd have a lot of stick and rightly so. It shows the characters in the team to bounce back.
“Now we need to sharpen up on a few things and put in a better performance against Georgia next week.
“A big work-on from last week was our defence. The boys stood up today and put everything right. The character and attitude to come here, the Argies are a good team, they could have steamrollered us like last week but we came out fighting and got the win
“We’ve got to keep performing well and improving. Every week is a chance to do that.”
Pablo Matera discusses defeat
Argentina skipper Pablo Matera gives his thoughts on the defeat.
“It was a physical game,” he said. “We didn't quite do the job, we had a lot of opportunities to score but didn't finish the plays.
“This is one of the best rugby stadiums in the world. It’s hard to take this loss because we know if we played a little better, we could have taken the win. Well done to Wales, they were physical and tough from minute one to minute 80.
“We had a short week, it was a big challenge after last week to turn the page as quickly as possible. We did a good job with that, nothing to complain about how we prepared. It was 80 minutes of rugby and our effort was where it needed to be.”
Taulupe Faletau reacts
Taulupe Faletau was named Player of the Match for a tireless display and he gave his immediate reaction to Prime Video after the game.
He said: “Our performance was better than last week but there’s still plenty to work on. Looking back at the game last week and at where we went wrong, we talked about mindset. I think we were much better with that today. You've just got to keep working hard.”
FULL-TIME! Wales 20-13 Argentina
It wasn’t always pretty but Wales hold on for a desperately-needed win!
Wales 20-13 Argentina, 80 mins
Wales just need to stay disciplined defensively. And they do! The ball is loose, Ken Owens picks it up, feeds Rhys Priestland and he kicks to touch!
Wales win!
Wales 20-13 Argentina, 80 mins
The Pumas win a penalty and the kick to touch moves them up towards halfway. A long way to go to get the equalising score though. Clock into the red.
Wales 20-13 Argentina, 79 mins
Scrappy lineout but won by Wales and Morgan makes a few yards on the carry. Argentina get the ball back but they’re deep in their own 22 and Albornoz’s kick clear is charged down by Williams. It squirts into touch for a five-metre lineout.
Wales 20-13 Argentina, 78 mins
Wales’s defence still shooting up and holding Argentina. Tipuric in particular a tackling machine. The Pumas can’t get over the halfway line and eventually give away possession.
Williams’ chip kick over the top is collected well by Carreras. But Argentina stuck in their own half and then Matera is forced into touch on the left. Wales have possession back with two minutes to go.
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