France survive scare to beat US 33-9 at Rugby World Cup

FUKUOKA, AFP: France ran in three late tries against the US yesterday to earn a vital bonus point in the Rugby World Cup ‘group of death’ with an erratic 33-9 win.

Les Bleus were just 12-9 ahead with 13 minutes to go before Gael Fickou, Baptiste Serin and Jefferson Poirot dotted down to secure victory against the underdogs.

It was the type of inconsistent performance followers of French rugby have seen all too frequently – breath-taking flair let down by a raft of handling errors. But the bonus point keeps the pressure up on old enemy England, who play Argentina on Saturday in another Pool C clash of the heavyweights.

Next up for France is a match-up with the physical Tongans on 6 October, before ‘Le Crunch’ with England in Yokohama that may decide who tops the group and earns a likely quarter-final clash against Australia.