France Edge South Africa 21-19 as England Rout Japan 78-15 in Nations Championship
France beat South Africa 21-19 at the Stade de France in the Nations Championship. England then crushed Japan 78-15 at Twickenham, where Will Joseph scored five tries on his first cap since 2022. Here are the rugby scores, key moments and reaction.
France beat South Africa 21-19 at the Stade de France in the Nations Championship, and England thrashed Japan 78-15 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in the latest rugby scores from the tournament.
France hang on in Paris
France had waited 21 years to beat the Springboks in their national stadium. They did it by two points, clinging on by their fingertips for the final 30 minutes.
They won with a team that had barely won a lineout, lost almost every scrum and was missing a host of players. What they had was Antoine Dupont.
Dupont wore No 10 but played his usual scrum-half role, with Maxime Lucu moving to first receiver. Head coach Fabien Galthié had dismissed talk of mind games with South Africa's Rassie Erasmus as "comic-book stuff".
The first turn came after 10 minutes, when Lood de Jager was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle. France used the space, and wing Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang dived through Damian Willemse's tackle to score in the corner.
Their second try was stranger. Dupont sent a 50-22 kick up to the South African line, Yoram Moefana's pass hit Kalvin Gourgues in the face, and Théo Attissogbe pounced on the loose ball. "I'm not sure how you prepare a defence for a ball that bounces off a guy's face," Erasmus said.
Cards, scrums and a missed kick
An hour before kick-off, Erasmus dropped Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw to the bench. He sent all three on in the 35th minute, an odd call given South Africa had been dominant in the scrum.
South Africa had already pulled one try back with a rolling maul. Dupont then put Louis Bielle-Biarrey through with a tumbling grubber kick to restore France's 14-point lead.
Discipline then took over. Lucu was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, Grandidier-Nkanang was sent off for slapping down a pass in the French 22, and Jasper Wiese was shown a red for an illegal clearout.
South Africa still had a chance to draw level. Manie Libbok missed a conversion that would have tied the scores with seven minutes left.
Joseph scores five for England
Will Joseph scored five tries on his first England appearance since July 2022. Steve Borthwick's side ran in 12 tries in all against a Japan team coached by former England head coach Eddie Jones.
Joseph scored inside the first minute. Japan lock Harry Hockings was sent off for a high tackle on Ellis Genge, with a yellow card upgraded to a 20-minute red by the sixth minute.
Freddie Steward, Genge, Cadan Murley, Ben Earl, George Martin, Ben Curry, Marcus Smith and Greg Fisilau also scored. England led 49-7 at half-time.
Japan replied through lock Warner Dearns and replacement prop Opeti Helu, with Naoto Saito adding a conversion and a penalty. England missed eight conversions, six by George Ford and two by Henry Slade, which cost them 16 points.
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