Dupont inspires France past South Africa in Paris thriller

France finally beat South Africa at the Stade de France on Friday night, winning 21-19 to end a run stretching back 21 years without victory over the Springboks on home soil, Guardian Rugby Union reported.

It came despite France losing the bulk of the scrum battle and barely winning a lineout, with a squad weakened by absences going into the Nations Championship fixture as underdogs against the reigning world champions.

The shape of the French attack had been the subject of pre-match intrigue. Antoine Dupont wore the number 10 jersey but operated in his usual scrum-half role, while Maxime Lucu took the nine shirt and deputised at first receiver after Romain Ntamack was injured in last weekend's win over Fiji, Yahoo Sports reported.

Head coach Fabien Galthié had waved away suggestions that the selection was a tactical ruse aimed at his opposite number Rassie Erasmus, dismissing the idea as "comic-book stuff", according to Guardian Rugby Union.

Up front, France endured a torrid evening. The hosts conceded nine penalties at scrum time alone and saw replacement tighthead Regis Montagne sin-binned for persistent collapsing, with Sipili Falatea also under pressure as Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw repeatedly drove the French front row backwards, Independent Sport reported.

The French maxim that there is "no scrum, no win" was, in the words of Independent Sport, proved wrong on a night when the set piece was comprehensively lost but the scoreboard still favoured the hosts.

South Africa threatened a familiar late ambush. Marx scored from a driving maul with nine minutes remaining to bring the Springboks to within two points, stirring memories for the home crowd of the 2023 World Cup quarter-final France lost by a single point, as detailed by Independent Sport.

Manie Libbok, however, was again wayward with the boot in the closing stages, and South Africa could not find the extra score needed to complete the turnaround.

The decisive moment arrived after Louis Bielle-Biarrey delivered a heavy tackle that shook the Springboks, with Dupont emerging from the ensuing breakdown to secure the ball and seal the win in the dying moments, Independent Sport reported.

Dupont, who turns 31 on Sunday, was named player of the match and said afterwards that the manner of the victory mattered as much as the result itself. "In the head it's important to win matches that count, that are tough, that go down to the last minute," he told broadcaster TF1, as relayed by Yahoo Sports.

The French captain, the 2021 World Rugby player of the year, added: "It shows the mentality of the team that never gave in, even if we had it hard on our line."

The result keeps France top of the northern hemisphere table in the Nations Championship, with their next assignment to confirm whether the resilience shown in Paris can be repeated against sterner set-piece opposition.