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France finally broke spirited resistance from the United States with three late tries to win their Rugby World Cup Pool C match 33-9.
The French got five tries and an attacking bonus point, but it was a largely sloppy performance as the U.S. team closed the gap to 12-9 with a little more than 15 minutes left after AJ MacGinty landed his third penalty.
But the French went up a level when it counted.
Center Gael Fickou, replacement halfback Baptiste Serin and replacement prop Jefferson Poirot all scored late to give the result a glossy scoreline France didn’t really deserve.
Ultimately, France’s strong bench made the difference and handed the U.S. Eagles their second defeat after a 45-7 loss to 2003 champion England.
France led 12-6 at halftime, with first-five Camille Lopez setting up tries for wingers Yoann Huget and Alivereti Raka with kicks over the defence into the corners.
But the French made too many errors against a competitive U.S. scrum and MacGinty slotted two first-half penalties from in front of the posts.
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