France beat Fiji 54–17 but lose Ntamack for rest of Nations Championship

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France beat Fiji 54–17 in Lyon on Saturday, 7 November to return to the top of the Nations Championship’s northern hemisphere standings, but lost fly-half Romain Ntamack to a shoulder injury. Coach Fabien Galthié said afterwards that Ntamack would miss the rest of the competition.

The eight-try victory took France to 17 points, two ahead of Ireland, with three wins from four matches. Fiji remained bottom of the southern hemisphere section without a point.

Jean-Baptiste Gros opened the scoring with a try before France added a penalty try and a score from fellow prop Sipili Falatea. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang then crossed to secure the bonus point, helping the hosts reach half-time 26–3 ahead.

Simione Kuruvoli supplied Fiji’s three first-half points with a penalty. France took time to extend their advantage after the break, but Kalvin Gourgues and Théo Attissogbe scored before Charles Ollivon and captain Antoine Dupont added further tries.

Vinaya Habosi and Selestino Ravutaumada supplied Fiji’s two tries during the second half. Their responses interrupted the French scoring without threatening the outcome, as the hosts completed a comfortable win ahead of their meeting with South Africa.

Ntamack’s departure gave France a significant problem for that next assignment. He injured his shoulder while stretching towards the line in the move that led to Falatea’s try, leaving the field during the first half. Galthié subsequently confirmed his absence for the remaining fixtures.

Scrum-half Maxime Lucu took over at fly-half after Ntamack went off. With Matthieu Jalibert also already unavailable, France must reorganise their playmaking options before facing the world champions.

France play South Africa next Friday, 13 November. Fiji continue their northern hemisphere programme with a trip to Ireland.