Chumisa Qawe’s 20-minute red card allowed France to assert their dominance, and they did not let up as they forced the Bok Women to wait until the 80th minute to dot down in front of the 13,268 in attendance in Northampton.
But despite their struggles to deal with France’s quality, South Africa can look to build on the momentum of that final try ahead of their playoff clash with the Black Ferns in Exeter, where kick-off is at 14h00 on Saturday.
As both sides struggled to keep hold of the ball in the opening stages, it was France who took first blood in a physical clash when fullback Emilie Boulard raced over the line for five points.
South Africa won a penalty of their own five minutes later right under the posts following a high tackle and Byrhandré Dolf made no mistake to kick over for three points to make it 5-3, but that was the closest they got on the scoreboard.
There was no shortage of excitement as France got on the front foot again and proved clinical once in range of the tryline, with Gabrielle Vernier showing off silky footwork as she burst through a gap to dot down following a scrum inside the 22.
Nadine Roos delivered another strong performance for the Bok Women.
It did not get any better for the Bok Women as Qawe was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle, later upgraded to a 20-minute red card by bunker review, with France quick to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
France added two tries before the break and Boulard scored her second early in the second half as the Europeans started to assert their dominance on the game.
The South Africans sent on their Bomb Squad which stemmed the tide bit, but quick-thinking by scrumhalf Pauline Bordon Sansus saw France notch their seventh try in the 61st minute, by Anaelle Deshaye, who evaded a tackle before charging over the line.
The Bok Women played with more composure at this stage, but failed to capitalise as France had all the answers on defence, while the South Africans were also guilty of unnecessary mistakes, which cost them momentu,
France scored two more late tries, by Grisez and Alex Chambon, before South Africa finally gave their fans something to celebrate when Roos, who had moved from scrumhalf to flyhalf, streaked away in a piece of individual brilliance to plant the ball down under the posts after the buzzer had sounded as the Bok Women refused to give up. Dolf added the conversion to the delight of the Northampton crowd.
Scorers:
Springbok Women 10 (3) - Try: Nadine Roos. Conversion: Byrhandré Dolf. Penalty goal: Dolf.
France 57 (24) - Tries: Emilie Boulard (2), Gaby Vernier, Charlotte Escudero, Agathe Gerin, Joanna Grisez (2), Annaelle Deshaye, Alexandra Chambon. Conversions: Lina Queyroi (2), Morgane Bourgeois (4).
