South Africa clinched their three-match series against France with a comprehensive 37-15 win at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
The Boks continue on the road to redemption after last year's annus horribilis. However, coach Allister Coetzee cannot rest on his laurels as a defeat next weekend could still cost him his job after the SARU ultimatum which said he had to win the series 3-0.
However, Coetzee would be satisfied with not just the winning margin but also the style of rugby his side are playing this year. And so the Springbok supporters should be.
Tries from Jan Serfontein, Siya Kolisi, Coenie Oosthuizen and Elton Jantjies proved too much for the French who scored through Scott Spedding and Damian Penaud. Jantjies produced another solid kicking display in which 17 points came from his boot.
South Africa attacked the gainline ferociously and were immense on defence, driving the French back as well as creating a number of turnovers. The opening 20 minutes of the second half in which they resisted a sustained French onslaught was a throwback to the glory days of 2007 under Jake White. The Boks made 153 tackles with three players making over 15 tackles whereas the French only made 44.
Despite the French enjoying 66 percent possession and 64 percent territory, the Boks showed it is not about how much ball or territory you have, but how you use it and how clinical you are.
Some good work by the French backline down the left wing resulted in the game's first try. Virimi Vakatawa broke three tackles to create the momentum and from the recycled ball Penaud managed to stay in the field of play before feeding Spedding who finished well in the corner. Francois Trinh-Duc added the extras to give les Bleus a 7-0 lead inside three minutes.
France had the better of the early possession enjoying over 70 percent of the ball in the first quarter. Despite this the Boks made a few promising line breaks but failed to convert. Oupa Mohoje was then knocked out after a heavy collision with Louis Picamoles and Jean-Luc Du Preez came on for his debut after only 13 minutes. Jantjies then pulled a penalty back for the Boks to make it 7-3.
On the 20 minute mark, the South Africans responded with a try. Good interplay saw the ball go down the left wing through the hands of Serfontein, Lionel Mapoe, Courtnall Skosan and Kolisi who offloaded brilliantly on the inside for Serfontein to dot down. Jantjies added the extras.
Soon after, Kolisi got in on the act with a sublime intercept in which he plucked the ball out of the air from inches above the ground and showed good speed to race in under the posts. It all came from a good Serfontein kick in behind the French defence which pressured the French defence into throwing an errant pass.
Jantjies added a further two penalties in the first-half to ensure the Boks went in to the interval at 23-7 in the lead.
The French dominated the possession and territory stakes and applied persistent pressure on the Springbok try-line for the opening 20 minutes of the second half.
Credit must go to the Boks for surviving this onslaught with a heroic defensive effort. This will please the coaching staff and supporters greatly as it is something the Boks have always prided themselves on. All the French had to write home about for their sustained pressure was a sole Francois Trinh-Duc penalty.
Having soaked up the pressure, the Boks went on to score their third try in the 69th minute. Pieter-Steph Du Toit showed the subtle touch and vision of a backline player with an expertly timed pass to Oosthuizen who ran a marvellous line and with that sort of momentum was not going to be stopped. Jantjies converted to give the Boks a 30-10 lead.
However, the French responded immediately from the re-start. South Africa were unable to secure the ball from the French kick-off and launched a swift counter-attack with Vakatawa integral to the move that saw Penaud dotting down on his debut.
The fourth Bok try came courtesy of some more Kolisi magic. Again he made an excellent intercept and ran 40 metres before producing a wonderful offload for Jantjies to cruise in under the posts. And that's how it stayed until the final whistle with the Boks winning the match 37-15.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Serfontein, Kolisi, Oosthuizen, Jantjies
Cons: Jantjies 4
Pens: Jantjies 3
For France:
Tries: Spedding, Penaud
Con: Serin
Pen: Trinh-Duc
South Africa: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Romain Taofifeuna, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Clément Maynadier, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Julien le Devedec, 20 Bernard le Roux, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Nans Ducuing
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Leigh Halfpenny finished with 20 points as the Lions scored second half tries through a penalty try and second-row Maro Itoje, having completely dominated after half-time as the Maoris failed to add any points.
Keith Earls, Dan Leavy and Jack Conan all finished with braces for Joe Schmidt's side, with Garry Ringrose the other try scorer for Ireland.
The last five Tests between these sides were decided by six points or less and, as the scoreline suggests, this one was no different with this result being Scotland's first-ever triumph over the Wallabies in Sydney.
Facing each other for the first time since 2014, when Fiji also won in Suva, the contest went right down to the wire as Fiji outscored the visitors by three tries to one.
Tries from Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea and Sonny Bill Williams gave New Zealand a comfortable 28-0 lead, at the end of a first half where Samoa had big chances to score but failed to capitalise, not to mention being on the wrong side of a contention decision for the first try.
Despite what the scoreline suggests, this was a tight affair and the result was in the balance until late in the game. Wales eventually outscored their opponents by two tries to none but they battled to cope with Tonga's physicality, especially in the forward exchanges.
The game was played in extremely windy and rainy conditions and served as a precursor to the Rugby World Cup qualifiers later this month.
As the scoreline suggests, Ireland dominated for large periods and they eventually outscored their hosts by nine tries to three with Keith Earls leading the way with a brace scored in the first half.
A loose, entertaining contest full of running, it was Argentina who led at half-time thanks to tries from Emiliano Boffelli and Tomás Lavanini, plus a Nicolás Sánchez penalty, with Marland Yarde crossing for England as the score stood at 17-13.
With five Springboks making their Test debuts, the home side still managed to see off les Bleus after outscoring the visitors four tries to two.
Tries from Ali Price, Tim Visser, Damien Hoyland and a brace from Ross Ford proved too much for Italy, who scored through tries from Michele Campagnaro and Angelo Esposito.
Tries from Akihito Yamada, Kenki Fukuoka and Michael Leitch saw them to the success, with Jumpei Ogura kicking 18 points from the tee.
Tries from Israel Folau (2), Henry Speight (2) and Stephen Moore saw them to victory, with Bernard Foley kicking 12 points in a slick showing.
Only one try was scored in the game and it went the way of Irish lock Iain Henderson, as the hosts held on for a morale-boosting success.
A 20-minute spell on the Welsh line was the conclusion to this fixture as Camille Chat's try, converted by Camille Lopez, saw France win.
The home side were full value for their win as they dominated for large periods — especially during the first half — although Italy will be disappointed with their effort and poor goalkicking from Carlo Canna, who failed to convert three penalties in the first half, meant they failed to score any points.
A hat-trick from outside centre Jonathan Joseph led the way for Eddie Jones' charges, with Anthony Watson, Billy Vunipola and Danny Care (2) also crossing as they move an impressive eight points clear in the table.
Italy took a surprise lead through Sergio Parisse but France responded in kind through Gaël Fickou, with three penalties from Camille Lopez to two from Carlo Canna giving France a 16-11 advantage by the break.
North's try and a Leigh Halfpenny penalty handed Wales an 8-6 half-time advantage, after three-pointers in response from Johnny Sexton and Paddy Jackson.