Overview
- France raced to a 21-0 lead inside 19 minutes, were pegged back to 21-21 early in the second half, and pulled away late as Nicolas Depoortere completed a brace.
- Thomas Ramos steadied the scoreboard with penalties before receiving a late yellow card that left France finishing without their goal-kicker.
- Head knocks removed Pierre-Louis Barassi and replacement Émilien Gailleton under concussion protocols, forcing flanker Oscar Jégou to fill in at centre.
- Fabien Galthié and senior players blamed indiscipline and missed tackles for the momentum swing, citing nine penalties during the slump and poor defensive cohesion.
- Before more than 40,000 at the Stade Atlantique, the win ended a four-match skid and set up next Saturday’s test against Australia at the Stade de France.