France made it a record-extending 12 Test victories in a row with a thrilling late 30-26 win over South Africa in Marseille on Saturday in a contest that saw both sides have a player sent off.
South Africa trailed 13-0 after Pieter-Steph du Toit was dismissed early on for catching Jonathan Danty in the head, either side of a couple of Thomas Ramos penalties, before Cyril Baille stretched over the line.
But the reigning world champions responded through a Cheslin Kolbe penalty and a try from Siya Kolisi, who darted around the side after a collapsing maul, though Ramos ensured France still retained a six-point lead at the break by kicking over another penalty.
Kolbe and Ramos added further points from the boot for their respective sides early in an action-packed second half, which sparked into life when Antoine Dupont was sent off for his challenge on Kolbe to level up the sides at 14 players each.
South Africa wasted no time in taking the lead for the first time through Kurt-Lee Arendse's score in the right corner following a driving maul, which Faf de Klerk added to with another penalty.
But after Ramos and Paul Willemse found the sticks to keep the scoreline tight, there was to be another twist as Deon Fourie was sin-binned with 10 minutes to go and France profited when Sipili Falatea crashed over in the third phase of play, with Ramos adding three more points to seal a statement win a year out from the World Cup.
South Africa seal ODI series win against Ireland
South Africa claimed an emphatic 174-run victory to seal an ODI series triumph over Ireland ahead of the final game on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
Having cruised to a 139-run victory in the opening encounter, the Proteas continued to avenge their shock T20I defeat against the same opponents last week with another commanding display.
South Africa made a strong start with the bat before Ryan Rickelton (40) fell in the 13th over, with Temba Bavuma (35) retiring hurt from the contest soon after.
Rassie van der Dussen (35) and Kyle Verreynne (67) also performed well, only for Tristan Stubbs to steal the show with 112 runs from 81 deliveries, handing the Proteas a strong grip on the encounter, with South Africa ending 343-4 from their 50 overs.
Ireland then made a dismal start to their run chase, losing five wickets in the opening 10 overs as Lizaad Williams and Lungi Ngidi ripped through their opening attack and had Ireland 50-5 early on.
Mark Adair (21) and Andy McBrine (10) momentarily halted the onslaught, but were soon sent on their way, with Gavin Hoey hitting 23 runs before he was bowled and caught by Ngidi (2-38).
Graham Hume and Craig Young's 52-run stand frustrated South Africa, only for the former to be bowled out by Bjorn Fortuin (2-36) with just under 20 overs remaining as Ireland ended all out for 169.
Data Debrief: Proteas on song
It was yet another strong display by South Africa, cruising to a comfortable victory in Abu Dhabi, with Stubbs and Williams starring with the bat and ball.
Stubbs' knock of 112 saw him record a maiden century in international cricket, ending with an impressive strike rate of 138.27.
Williams, meanwhile, continued where he left off from the first match, and now has seven wickets during the series so far.
Fit-again Mbappe not selected by France
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their Nations League games against Israel and Belgium.
Mbappe, who sustained a muscular injury while in action for Real Madrid last month, returned to action for Los Blancos on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old was a substitute but could not help Madrid avoid falling to a 1-0 defeat at Lille in the Champions League.
However, Didier Deschamps has made the call to rest Mbappe for this month's fixtures.
"He has a problem that is not serious. I'm not here to take risks, which is why Kylian isn't on the list," Deschamps told reporters.
Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, meanwhile, was called up, while Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku has also been selected for the first time since June 2023.
Lucas Digne, who was called up as an injury replacement for the last squad, has kept his place after some impressive displays for Aston Villa.
Mbappe's Madrid team-mate Eduardo Camavinga has also been called up after recovering from a knee injury.
France lost to Italy in their Nations League opener, but bounced back by beating Belgium 2-0.
France squad in full:
Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens); Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Milan), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), Manu Kone (Roma), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG); Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).
South Africa beat Ireland in ODI opener to avenge T20I loss
South Africa cruised to a 139-run win over Ireland in the teams' first ODI in Abu Dhabi, with Lizaad Williams tearing through their opponents' batting order.
The Proteas approached Wednesday's contest reeling from a shock T20I defeat to Ireland on Sunday, with Ross Adair's maiden international century ensuring the two-match series ended 1-1.
There was not to be a repeat in the 50-over format, however, with Ireland's batting order collapsing after Ryan Rickelton (91) and Tristan Stubbs (79) guided an otherwise shaky South Africa to 271-9.
The Proteas started miserably by losing three wickets for 39 runs, Mark Adair taking two of them on his way to figures of 4-50.
But opener Rickelton stayed cool while the wickets tumbled around him, lasting 102 deliveries and allowing Stubbs to join in on the act with comfortably his best ODI score, dragging South Africa to a respectable total.
Ireland might have harboured hopes of a successful chase, but Paul Stirling's fourth-ball dismissal for just two runs set the tone, and a spate of four more wickets in the space of six overs dropped Ireland to 61-5.
Williams finished with figures of 4-32 from his 10 overs for the Proteas, who needed just 32 overs to finish off the tail and bring some much-needed positivity to their tour of the United Arab Emirates, which started with an ODI series loss to Afghanistan.
Data Debrief: Williams wins it
Rickelton and Stubbs carried South Africa to a score they were capable of defending despite no other batter scoring more than Bjorn Fortuin's 28 – seven scored 13 runs or fewer.
But it was Williams who made sure of the victory, taking three of the first four wickets to leave Ireland in a tailspin, then going on to record the best figures of his young ODI career.
In none of his previous five ODIs had Williams managed more than two wickets, while his 32 runs conceded were also his fewest in the format.
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