France stunned world champions South Africa with a 21-19 victory to take control of the Northern Hemisphere group of the Nations Championship.

The Six Nations champions held out for a huge win in Paris, and now sit six points clear of England in their group, with only one game remaining.

France caused South Africa some early problems and were denied the lead by a hair as Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang was tackled into touch just shy of the try line.

Lood de Jager's yellow card proved costly shortly after as the penalty led to a pacy break from France, with Grandidier-Nkanang crossing in the right corner after the 16th phase of the attack after 16 minutes.

And a second converted try seven minutes later put France in control, with Theo Attissogbe grounding a grubber kick, and it survived a review for a knock-on with the ball coming off the head of Kalvin Gourgues.

South Africa struck back on the half-hour mark, with Jan-Hendrik Wessels getting a maul try, but France restored their 14-point cushion two minutes later when Louis Bielle-Biarrey charged into the corner to dot down.

Kurt-Lee Arendse had a score ruled out for offside before the break, but the game lost some of its momentum in the second half, with cards aplenty for both sides.

Jasper Wiese received a 20-minute red, but South Africa responded well to that setback with a converted try as Cobus Reinach tapped the ball against the base of the post after a drive down the middle.

South Africa dominated the latter stages of the match – though they were helped by Maxime Lucu missing a central penalty – and Malcolm Marx piled over from a driving maul to bring the world champions within two points in the 72nd minute.

However, Manie Libbok missed the conversion, and France held out for the victory with a backs-to-the-wall defensive show.

𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 ! Nos Bleus s'imposent ce soir face aux champions du monde, les Sud-Africains ! Félicitations les garçons !!!! #XVdeFrance https://t.co/iYUQVk1N4s

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) November 13, 2026

France get the job done

The task facing France ahead of this game was a tough one, given South Africa had won nine of the last 10 meetings between the sides, including a 32-17 victory in Paris last November.

Indeed, the Springboks had won on their last five visits to Paris, with France's most recent win against them coming in Marseille back in November 2022 (30-26).

But France's fast start on Friday was exactly what they needed to get South Africa on the ropes, with Attissogbe scoring his fourth try in five games in this championship.

And Bielle-Biarrey has now taken his tally to 30 tries in 29 Tests.

It was the hosts' defence that stole the show in the second half; they did not score a single point after the break, played most of the final 12 minutes a man down, but still kept South Africa at bay, with Bielle-Biarrey making a stunning hit in the closing seconds to stop the visitors from mounting one last attack.

While France have breathing space at the top of the Northern Hemisphere table, South Africa sit just one point above New Zealand in the Southern, having played a game more.