Heartbroken France captain Antoine Dupont hit out at the refereeing of Ben O’Keeffe but admitted his team was beaten by the better side after Les Bleus tumbled out of their own World Cup.
South Africa stormed Paris to move to just two wins away from retaining the title they won in Japan in 2019.
The Springboks inflicted a first home defeat on Fabien Galthie’s side since 2021.
New Zealand official O’Keeffe was the subject of anger from a capacity Stade de France crowd the Springboks prevailed 29-28. South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth didn’t receive a yellow for what looked a deliberate knock on although he was sent to the sin bin for making head contact with Uini Atonio.
Dupont said: ‘I don’t think the refereeing was at the required level for what was at stake.
Heartbroken France captain Antoine Dupont admitted his team was beaten by the better side
France players were dejected at full-time after World Cup hosts were beaten by South Africa
‘But it doesn’t take anything away from the South African performance.
‘They dominated us and played a great match.’
Galthie insisted he will stay with France despite his team’s hopes of global glory going up in smoke.
‘I’m not going to resign. I have a contract until 2028,’ Galthie said. ‘South Africa were very, very strong. I’ve no regrets in any of the preparation.
‘We put everything in place to achieve of our potential. I’m very proud of my players.’
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Dupont and his players in the home changing room as an entire nation’s hopes of World Cup glory were ended.
For South Africa, it was a famous win as they edged a titanic battle to set-up a semi-final with Steve Borthwick’s England in Paris on Saturday night.
Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber said: ‘It was a proper Test match.
South Africa edged a titanic battle to set-up a semi-final with England next Saturday
‘I thought Ben was good on the day. We try to play in such a way that we take the referee out of the game. We scored four tries and when we had opportunities to score, we scored.’
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi added: ‘We can’t control the decisions the referee makes.
‘I thought the communication he made was fair. I will never discredit the referee. It was an amazing game with a lot of contests. The way the game went outshines everything.
‘A lot of questions were asked of us by the French team. Our plan was clear. We had to fight. I’m really proud of the character the boys showed.’
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