VIVE LA DEPTH: France Sign Off the Southern Tour 2-1, Plant a Flag Atop the North, and Galthé Sits on a Mountain of Talent — Midi Olympique Says Dupont and Ntamack Are Only the Start

REAL FACTS: France closed their Nations Championship southern-hemisphere tour with a 42-15 win over Japan in Tokyo on 18 July 2026, finishing the three-match swing 2-1 (wins over Australia and Japan, a defeat to New Zealand) and topping the northern group after Round 3. French rugby paper Midi Olympique, alongside L’Équipe, reported that Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack were among the nine ‘finalists’ in Fabien Galthé’s expanded tour plans — a pool drawing heavily on Toulouse and Montpellier. (Sources: Midi Olympique, L’Équipe, France 24, RugbyPass)

Midi Olympique does the maths, and the numbers are rude

The one blot, and why it doesn’t matter

Official Travel Partner·THE DIGITAL NOMAD STORE 🧸Travel smarter with The Digital Nomad Store. 🧸

🏉 More chaos

🇿🇦 STILL KING OF THE HILL, STILL NOT SHARING THE VIEW: Springboks Tighten Their Chokehold on the World No 1 Ranking as England, Japan and Spain Scramble Up the Ladder Beneath Them 🇿🇦 BACK-TO-BACK, BABY: Junior Boks Down France 16-5 in a Lightning-Delayed Tbilisi Final to Go Where No South African Age-Group Side Has Ever Gone — and Answer the "Where's the Next Generation?" Question in Person 🇿🇦 THE VERDICT IS IN: Kurt-Lee Arendse and Rassie Both Hand Vusi Moyo Glowing Debut Reviews After 43-0 — Turns Out the 20-Year-Old Who "Kicks Brilliantly Off the Tee" Was Exactly the Kid Rassie Promised