World Championship: France edge New Zealand in Bordeaux Cup Final
DAY THREE WRAP: France were crowned the HSBC Men’s Bordeaux SVNS champions after they edged New Zealand 14-5 in the Cup Final on Sunday.
In a tight contest, only three tries were scored, with the hosts getting two of them.
The French reached the Final after a 21-12 win over the world champion BlitzBoks in the semifinals. Meanwhile, New Zealand were no match for Spain in a 24-12 win in the other semifinal.
Winning big on home soil 🇫🇷
France are HSBC SVNS Bordeaux champions 🏆#HSBCSVNS #HSBCSVNSBOD pic.twitter.com/rdtUeRauM9
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) June 7, 2026
France got off the mark with some great passing and strong running, which resulted in a try for Rayan Rebbadj in the final match.
However, the hosts were down to six men after that when Celian Pouzelgues was shown a yellow card for a high tackle.
New Zealand punished France with Jayden Keelan weaving his way to the tryline.
At half-time, it was 7-5 to France.
France had a try disallowed in the early stages of the second half, but they still dominated proceedings after.
With two minutes left on the clock, New Zealand were down to 14 men after Akuila Rokolisoa received a yellow card.
France’s winning try eventually came in the final minute when Pouzelgues crashed through New Zealand’s defence after a sustained attack.
After doing enough to secure the World Championship title with a win over Fiji in the quarterfinals, the BlitzBoks finished fourth in Bordeaux on the final day.
They first suffered a 12-21 defeat to hosts France in the Cup semifinals before they lost their third-place play-off 14-40 to Spain.
It was a fast start for the South Africans in that match against Spain, with Shilton van Wyk showing calmness and great footy skills to score the opening try.
Ricardo Duarttee scored South Africa’s second a couple of minutes later after a quick tap penalty near the Spanish tryline.
However, the Europeans got off the mark after that with some great interplay resulting in a try for Juan Ramos.
The BlitzBoks suffered a blow after that when the referee showed a yellow to Zain Davids for a deliberate knockdown, and with a man advantage, Ramos went over for his second try just before the break.
At half-time, it was 14-14.
After patience on attack, Spain found themselves in front with a Francisco Cosculluela try.
There was some breathing space moments later after Josep Serres scored Spain’s fourth try.
It just went from bad to worse for the BlitzBoks after Duarttee threw the ball away after an infringement.
The game was put to bed with a Pol Pla intercept try before Angel Bozal scored his team’s sixth before the end.
Day Three Men’s results:
Eleventh-place play-off:
Kenya 26-7 Uruguay
Ninth-place play-off:
Germany 19-47 Argentina
Cup semifinals:
France 21-12 South Africa
New Zealand 24-12 Spain
Seventh-place play-off:
Australia 31-0 Great Britain
Fifth-place play-off:
USA 17-14 Fiji
Third-place play-off:
South Africa 14-40 Spain
Cup Final:
France 14-5 New Zealand
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