France fall to Argentina defeat

Four drop goals helped Argentina on their way to an 18-13 victory over France at the Stade de France this evening.

The visitors were ahead inside two minutes when Nicolas Sanchez kicked over a penalty, and that lead was soon extended when the same man found the sticks with his well-weighted drop kick.

France were unable to get a grip on proceedings as the half progressed, and it was Los Pumas, boosted by their win over Italy last weekend, who extended their lead further when Sanchez added another pen and drop goal to his personal tally for the night.

To make things even better for Argentina, Juan Martinez Hernandez was successful with the boot, although Les Bleus did eventually get off the mark shortly before the interval when Camille Lopez kicked over.

Incredibly, Sanchez kicked over his side's fourth drop goal of the match within 10 minutes of the restart to put Argentina well and truly in control.

The complexion looked to change when Wesley Fofana added the contest's only try on 57 minutes, with Lopez successfully providing the extras and Rory Kockott earning three points of his own to set up a tense finale.

France were unable to claw the game back into their favour in the remaining time, though, with Argentina holding out for the win.