World champion South Africa managed to defeat France 32-17 despite falling behind in the first half.
Although France led 14-13 at halftime thanks to two tries from Damian Penaud, and despite South African lock Lood De Jager being shown a red card, these advantages were not enough for the French side.
South Africa earned an attacking lineout and, following a powerful rolling maul, André Esterhuizen drove over the line to score. Fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed the conversion, but substitute Grant Williams broke through the defense on the opposite flank to score another try, extending the lead after successfully converting.
Following defensive errors from France, South Africa won a series of penalties. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted the first two but missed the next two attempts. Penaud then punished South Africa once again by finishing off a pass from Ramos in the right corner.
However, the Rugby Championship winners showed great resilience despite being a man down. France could only make use of their numerical advantage through a single penalty scored by Ramos around the 60th minute.
It wasn’t enough, and the French side collapsed completely towards the end of the match. The game also marked captain Siya Kolisi’s 100th international appearance, making him the ninth South African player to reach this milestone.