Player ratings: 'Jittery'
The French were missing a number of key players and some of the players on the field struggled with the pace of the game at times.
Jeremy Papier rates the French players!
15 Brice Dulin:
Started off looking jittery and nervous. Yellow card at the 54th minute and gave away a penalty try which might have changed the game.
3/10
14 Yoann Huget:
Had a good game. His kick led to a try for his team.
5/10
13 Henry Chavancy:
Had a good showing with some strong runs and solid defence. Scored a try in the 34th minute.
6/10
12 Gael Fickou:
Strong performance from the inside centre, both on attack and defence.
6/10
11 Virimi Vakatawa:
Good under the high ball and consistently looked for work. One of the best players for France on the day.
8/10
10 Jules Plisson:
Shaky at the start, missed his first penalty and overall failed to take control of the match.
2/10
9 Maxim Machenaud:
Good first half performance but struggled in the second half
5/10
8 Louis Picamoles:
An Absent performance from the big No.8.
3/10
7 Loann Goujon:
Strong defensive performance, but otherwise absent.
4/10
6 Yacouba Camara:
Excellent performance all round. Personally my French man of the match. He made life tough for the Springboks at line-out time and carried and tackled relentlessly.
9/10
5 Yoann Maestri:
The two French locks were relentless in their ways. He carried the ball strong and he led the defensive charges.
8/10
4 Julien Le Devedec:
Strong performance all round and secured line-out ball.
8/10
3 Uini Atonio:
Won a penalty or two at the scrum, but otherwise did not feature.
4/10
2. Clement Maynadier:
Good line-out throws and carried once or twice but no real impact.
4/10
1 Jefferson Poirot:
Made a few tackles, but both teams seemed to struggle at the scrums and he was penalised a few times.
4/10
Replacements:
16 Camille Chat (On for Maynadier, 52nd min):
He was not much better than the man he replaced.
5/10
17 Eddy Ben Arous (On for Poirot, 60th min):
He did what he could in a losing cause.
5/10
18 Mohammed Boughami (On for Atonio, 55th min):
Made little impact when called upon.
5/10
19 Bernard Le Roux (On for Picamoles, 64th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Kevin Gourdon (On for Goujon, 52nd min):
Tried his best, but not enough.
5/10
21 Baptiste Serin (On for Machenaud, 47th min):
Replaced Machenaud and immediately made a difference. Scored a try in the 55th min and sped up the game for the French.
7/10
22 Jean-Marc Doussain (On for Plisson, 71st min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Vincent Rattez (On for Dulin, 71st min):
Not enough time to be rated.
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