Dupont hails France grit after 21-19 rugby stunner over South Africa

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PARIS — Captain Antoine Dupont praised the mentality and resilience of his France teammates after their stunning 21-19 takedown of world champion South Africa in Nations Championshiprugby on Friday.

The French played at a breathless tempo in the first half and built a 21-7 lead. They spent most of the second half with 14 men and getting ground down in scrums and mauls but withstood the Springboks’ inevitable comeback to achieve a statement win.

The Six Nations champion beat South Africa at the Stade de France for the first time since 2005 and bolstered its lead in the northern hemisphere standings. France hosts Argentina next weekend and should clinch a berth in the final in two weeks at Twickenham.

“It’s important to win these games, and it shows the mindset of this team,” Dupont said. “We were able to contain them when they came into our half, we were able to fight and hold the score until the end.

“The South Africans always push us to our limits. Tonight, there wasn’t one guy who slacked off, not one who took a rest. We saw a great attitude.”

Dupont wore the No. 10 jersey in a test for the first time because of a spate of flyhalf injuries but he played mainly at scrumhalf to be closer to the ball and was the best player on the pitch. He set up a try for Louis Bielle-Biarrey, held up Pieter-Steph du Toit over the tryline and his vision on both sides of the ball was typically remarkable.

He acknowledged only one of France’s three converted tries came off the training ground, the 16-phase effort finished by winger Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, including a kick-pass by Dupont.

“We weren’t able to show the full range of what we had worked on in training,” he said. “Tonight, it was mainly a question of energy and attitude.”

Also outstanding were No. 8 and former captain Grégory Alldritt, recalled for the first time in a year after Paul Boudehent was injured against Fiji last weekend, and rookie lock Florian Verhaege, who has been grabbing his chance in the absence of the injured Thibaud Flament.