Player ratings: An inch too short
The French looked a different outfit from the squad that travelled to South Africa a few months ago.
Despite their best efforts, they fell short but were left with quite a few positives to take from the encounter.
Jeremy Papier rates the French players!
15 Nans Ducuing
A couple of early errors but managed to get back into the game nicely.
4/10
14 Teddy Thomas
Defensively good and had a few good runs. Sets up the first try for his team.
5/10
13 Geoffrey Doumayrou
Defensively solid but had very few opportunities on the attack. Solid game.
4/10
12 Mathieu Bastareaud
Strong carries throughout the game and kept the Boks midfield very busy. Good performance.
5/10
11 Yoann Huget
Continued to look for work throughout the game by coming off the wing and found a few gaps in the SA defensive line.
5/10
10 Anthony Belleau
Scored the first try for France but missed a few kicks. However, a good performance overall.
6/10
9 Antoine Dupont
Solid game by the young man. Made a few mistakes but will definitely improve as time goes on.
5/10
8 Louis Picamoles
One of his better games for his country, had a few very strong carries and worked hard on defence.
6/10
7 Kevin Gourdon
Work rate very high as always and caused a few problems at the breakdown area for the Boks.
6/10
6 Judicael Cancoriet
Very much involved throughout the game. Had a few good carries and showed skill with a few good touches offloading and shift the point of contact.
5/10
5 Paul Gabrillagues
Got injured early on. Not enough time to be rated.
4 Sebastien Vahaamahina
Very strong performance, worked hard on and off the ball. Strong carries and worked tirelessly on defence, did exceptionally well at stopping the Springboks' rolling maul.
5/10
3 Rabah Slimani
Very busy first half both on attack and defence. Scrums solid. Won a crucial scrum penalty in the second half.
5/10
2 Guilhem Guirado (captain)
Very strong performance by the French captain with a few strong tackles early on and carried well but struggled at line-out time.
6/10
1 Jefferson Poirot
Solid performance up front, scrummed well and defensively strong.
5/10
Replacements:
16 Clement Maynadier (on for Guirado, 69th min)
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Sebastien Taofifenua (on for Poirot, 59th min)
Added to the French performance but they needed a little more effort.
5/10
18 Daniel Kotze (on for Slimani, 69th min)
Not enough time to be rated
19 Paul Jedrasiak (on for Gabrillagues, fifth min)
Made good use of his extra time on the park by showing the coach what he can offer.
6/10
20 Anthony Jelonch (on for Gourdon, 53rd min)
Struggled to get going.
4/10
21 Baptiste Serin (on for Dupont 55th min)
Got yellow carded soon after coming on the field, which cost his team more than the try he scored late on.
3/10
22 Francois Trinh-Duc
Not used.
23 Damien Penaud (on for Bastareaud 68th min)
Not enough time to be rated.
By Jeremy Papier
