Category: France Rugby

• France 37-23 Argentina
• Les Bleus run in four tries for third straight victory

France wrapped up their Autumn Nations Series in style with a 37-23 victory against Argentina for their third win in as many Tests at the Stade de France.

Six days after beating New Zealand 30-29, Fabien Galthié’s side were never in real trouble against the Pumas, with a penalty try and tries by Thibaud Flament, Gabin Villière and Louis Bielle-Biarrey while Thomas Ramos had another perfect kicking day with 15 points.

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• France 30-29 New Zealand
• Home side claw back half-time deficit in seesaw contest

Silky skills, crushing power and a ding-dong on the scoreboard lapped up by a sold-out Saturday-night crowd: this was a vintage instalment of a classic fixture that went right down to the wire.

The iconic scrum-half Antoine Dupont may have looked a little rusty on his second outing for France since his sevens sojourn at the Paris Olympics but Thomas Ramos, who kicked 15 points with six from six off the tee, was as dependable as ever.

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• England 21-13 France
• Set-piece superiority guides team to victory

England claimed a first under-20 world title since 2016 with a victory over France founded on their ruthlessly dominant scrum and a power-packed performance that will have Steve Borthwick licking his lips. Tries from the forwards Joe Bailey and Arthur Green sealed victory in Cape Town with England’s muscle up front proving too much for the defending champions.

England were unstoppable at scrum time, winning penalties at will less than a week after Borthwick had bemoaned the senior side’s set-piece problems. The props Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Afolabi Fasogbon may soon find themselves fast-tracked, such was their superiority in a pack that was missing its first-choice tighthead in Billy Sela. Others to burnish their reputations were the second-row Junior Kpoku and the flanker Henry Pollock in a performance that bodes well as Borthwick plots a course towards the 2027 World Cup.

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• Players currently on Les Bleus’ South America tour
• FFR president says an investigation is under way

Two France international rugby players have been arrested after an allegation of sexual assault was made against them during Les Bleus’ South America tour. The president of the the French rugby federation’ (FFR), Florian Grill, told reporters in Buenos Aires that if the facts are proven they are “incredibly serious”.

The two players – the 20-year-old Pau lock Hugo Auradou and the La Rochelle flanker Oscar Jégou, 21 – are set to be taken from the Argentinian capital to Mendoza, where the alleged incident happened. Mendoza staged the first Test between Argentina and France on Saturday, when Auradou and Jégou both started.

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Performance against France leads to new belief that Borthwick’s men have turned a corner with attacking tactics

For England the sense of deja vu was inescapable on Saturday night. As Thomas Ramos lined up the 80th-minute penalty to seal the narrowest of victories for France, minds spooled back to Paris and South Africa’s Handré Pollard doing precisely the same thing in the World Cup semi-final. If the fact that they emerged on the right side of a thrilling denouement just a week earlier demonstrates the fine margins of professional sport, England could be forgiven for getting that sinking feeling once again.

But this one will not hurt for as long or cut nearly as deep. Optimism abounds for Steve Borthwick’s side. The World Cup exit was greeted with a degree of respect that a limited team had scraped their way to the last four but, on the evidence of their valiant defeat in France and thrilling win against Ireland, England have rediscovered themselves. They have finally found an attacking edge that went missing in the second half of Eddie Jones’s reign and their supporters are swooning again.

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France needed a late Thomas Ramos penalty to win a nail-biter in Lyon

2 mins. England recycle the restart and boot it back to France who decide it’s the kind of night whereby they will go wide early, and have already had Fickou chucking the ball through his legs as an option. This move gets them outside the English blitz via a Depoortere run up the left touchline before England scramble and force him out.

At the second attempt (don’t ask), Thomas Ramos punts the ball deep to get us underway.

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Wales play their part in eight-try show, but France’s power game proves too much as Gatland’s charges remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

Elliot Dee leads the team out on his 50th appearance. Applause for Lewis Jones, the former Wales and British & Irish Lion, who passed away this week. Some love too for Barry John, JPR Williams, Phil Bennett and John Dawes.

Minutes away. Both groups look tense. They know what’s on offer today. Redemption is maybe too strong a word, but yesterday proved that any side can win if their opponents aren’t on it.

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