The Springboks played against France with 14 men for 67 minutes and with 13 for a further 10 of those minutes. They came back from 13-0 down to lead, only to fall short to a dubious try in the final five minutes of this captivating, courageous and utterly brilliant contest.

If this is what the World Cup has in store 11 months from now, it can’t come soon enough.

France were, as expected, excellent. The Springboks were, slightly surprisingly, excellent in most of the areas where they were so poor a week before when losing 19-16 to Ireland. They landed six out of six goal kicks with three different kickers, and the rolling maul caused France problems. 

They did lose three of their own lineouts in the first half, as hooker Bongi Mbonambi seemed to be out of sync with his jumpers. It didn’t help that lineout linchpin Lood de Jager was out through injury.

Even the Boks’ execution of chances was better, because they had fewer opportunities at a frothing Stade Vélodrome in Marseille than a week earlier, and converted two of them into fine tries. 

Captain Siya Kolisi emerged from the centre of a maul close to the line to score on the half-hour, which dragged the Boks back into the match after it looked as if it might dissolve into a damage-limitation exercise after Pieter-Steph du Toit was red-carded in the 13th minute. 

Du Toit entered a ruck dangerously and made direct head-to-head contact with France centre Jonathan Danty. There was no intended malice, but it was reckless and referee Wayne Barnes had no other option but to issue a red card.

Poor Du Toit cut a distraught figure on the touchline, knowing that an already tough assignment — to stop France’s 11-match winning streak reaching 12 — had just become almost impossible.

French fullback Thomas Ramos had already put the home side 3-0 up with a penalty early on. He landed another soon after Du Toit’s exit, before prop Cyril Baille smashed over for a try on 20 minutes. At 13-0 down, the Boks looked to be in serious trouble.

Collective effort

But they showed tenacity and no shortage of nous to stay in the game. There was more tempo to their play with a recalled Faf de Klerk in fine form. The little scrumhalf gave decisiveness and direction with crisp and speedy service and off the back of that, Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe were constant threats.

The selection of Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings with Willie le Roux reinstated at fullback was also tactically smart. The Bok back three handled France’s long kicking assault comfortably and were able to transfer pressure back on to the home team.

Sekou Macalou of France in action during the Test against the Springboks in Marseille on 12 November 2022. (Photo: EPA / Sebastien Nogier)

The Bok pack, in the absence of Du Toit, also knuckled down with a focused performance. There was a great deal of accuracy in their play. Kolisi was colossal and Eben Etzebeth’s contribution was once again, otherworldly. If he is not one of the five nominated World Player of the Year candidates in 2022, it would be a travesty.

These excellent individual performances produced a superb collective effort under self-inflicted duress.

“We kept on working for one another after the red card and we are proud of that. It’s horrible to lose and especially like that,” Kolisi said after the game.

“The guys played well, and they kept on fighting, but France played a little better. They are a great side and they showed it by being unbeaten in 12 games.

“They have a strong pack and backs that can take the opportunities, and they had a great atmosphere behind them in the match.”

Foothold

Kolbe landed a first-half penalty to give the Boks the tiniest foothold in the game before Kolisi’s try and Kolbe’s conversion left them only three points adrift.

It should have remained that way at the break, but one of the few errors Le Roux made occurred just before halftime when he decided on a counterattack from inside his own 22m area instead of kicking to touch. France smothered the attack and earned a penalty, which Ramos duly slotted to stretch the lead to six points after 40 pulsating and dramatic minutes.

After the break, the drama only became more intense. The darling of French rugby, scrumhalf Antoine Dupont was red-carded for a horror tackle on Kolbe. Dupont took Kolbe’s legs out when the pair contested an aerial kick and the Bok wing landed heavily on his neck. Like Danty, Kolbe never returned to the field.

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With the numbers now even, the Boks began to dominate. Arendse finished smartly for the Boks’ second try after a fine Le Roux pass gave him the half-a-metre he needed, minutes after Dupont left the field, and De Klerk nailed the touchline conversion.

From nowhere it seemed, the Boks led by a point. Another De Klerk penalty stretched the lead to four points before Ramos, with metronomic efficiency, landed another for France.

Damian Willemse was next to kick after De Klerk was substituted with 15 minutes to play. The flyhalf didn’t disappoint with a solid strike to again give the Boks a four-point advantage.

Eventually, France found their way into the Bok red zone again after flank Deon Fourie was sin-binned for collapsing a maul.

A few minutes later, from another rolling maul, prop Sipili Falatea went over for a try as the weakened Bok pack battled to stop the rumble to the line.

Falatea appeared to make a double movement in the act of scoring, but incredibly, Barnes’ communication with the television match official broke down at that precise moment. C’est la vie.

French players celebrate after defeating the Springboks in Marseille on 12 November 2022. (Photo: EPA / Sebastien Nogier)

A last-minute Ramos penalty ensured a French victory and a 12th straight win for les Bleus and consigned the Boks to a second tour defeat. It was a bitter outcome for a side that fought so bravely.

Praise and whines

Coach Jacques Nienaber praised the team’s effort.

“It hurts a lot because the players showed a lot of attitude and put in a great effort and we certainly can’t fault that,” said Nienaber after the match. 

“The effort the players delivered was extraordinary, and in the end goal kicks proved to be the difference on the scoreboard. 

“The reality is that we lost by four points against the second-ranked team in the world at home and by three points against the top-ranked team. We are facing Ireland in the pool stages of the World Cup and we could face France or New Zealand in the quarterfinal, so we have to keep working hard as a team.”

Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus though, took to social media to whinge. His series of tweets about unseen infractions was another typical passive-aggressive outburst from Erasmus that is starting to wear thin. And it is unlikely to help the Bok cause with officials.

I know guys and accept it, we really only have ourselves to blame as the French were awsome both on the field (players)and off the field (supporters)!! We just have to fix these fundamental errors like tackle technique and simple passing 👇🏿Sorry 🇿🇦 we know 💔 pic.twitter.com/hte6ggyXk9

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 12, 2022

Erasmus, who had just returned to the coach’s box after his ban for an infamous 62-minute dissection of the officiating in the second Test against the British & Irish Lions in 2021, has clearly decided to continue the battle.

He is sending a message to his players that he will stand up for them. On one level it is admirable, but on another, he might be doing them more harm than good.

Constant public attacking of officials might be more effective if he occasionally showed infringements the Boks get away with. That way, it would be a more acceptable attack on rugby’s complex laws rather than on officials and individuals. And it wouldn’t come across as a pathological victim mentality.

The Boks have two more chances to salvage something from a tour that is sliding into ignominy.

The performance against France highlighted some of the best traits of the team — tenacity, courage and skill among them. That’s what they need to focus on. DM

Scorers: 

France – Tries: Cyril Baille, Sipili Falatea. Conversion: Thomas Ramos. Penalties: Ramos (6). 

South Africa – Tries: Siya Kolisi, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions: Cheslin Kolbe, Faf de Klerk. Penalties: Kolbe (2), De Klerk, Damian Willemse.