The victory of Les Bleus was secured through the tests of Damian Penaud, Charles Ollivon and Anthony Jelonch and the boot of Thomas Ramos adding more points; The final two matches of the Autumn Nations Series take place next week – Wales vs Australia and England vs South Africa
Last Updated: 20/11/22 3:48pm
France’s victory over Japan ensures they finish the calendar year with an unbeaten record
France finished 2022 unbeaten after two tries from Damian Penaud helped them beat Japan 35-17 in their final Autumn Nations Series match.
Having previously beaten Australia and South Africa, Les Bleus have won three of three tournaments and are unbeaten this year.
Next year’s World Cup hosts also delivered their victory without their suspended captain, Antoine Dupont.
Stand-in captain Charles Ollivon and Anthony Jelonch scored two more tries for France while Thomas Ramos scored three penalties and converted three.
Japan’s tries came in the second half from Naoto Saito and Siosaia Fifita while Seungsin Lee managed to convert twice with a goal.
The result saw the Brave Blossoms hand their second win of the series, after losing to England last week.
Winger Penaud gave the hosts the lead after seven minutes, running onto Romain Ntamack’s strike and flicking the ball onto himself before racing to touch down as they threatened to clear.
Ramos kicked three penalties as France took the lead before Ollivon took a 21-3 lead with a half-time try.
Japan got their first-half points through fly-half Lee from the penalty spot but quickly reduced France’s lead three minutes into the second half when Saito crossed after Shogo Nakano’s break.
Results of the Autumn Nations Series in France
| France 30-29 Australia |
| France 30-26 South Africa |
| France 35-17 Japan |
Japan continued to look stronger than they did at Twickenham last week and kept the French at bay until the hour mark when Penaud scored his second try and 21st in 37 games.
Three minutes later, Fifita caught France unawares and slotted over from five meters to keep Japan out of the game as they reduced the deficit to 11 points.
But the home side made sure of a comfortable win as Jelonch completed a series of short runs. The downside of Les Bleus’ day was the loss of midfielder Gael Fickou to an ankle injury early in the game.
