- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
BTI | -0.2% | 35.22 | $ | |
SCS | -0.5% | 12.905 | $ | |
RELX | -0.78% | 45.93 | $ | |
RIO | -0.53% | 69.335 | $ | |
NGG | -1.03% | 65.825 | $ | |
GSK | 0.49% | 39.01 | $ | |
VOD | 0.41% | 9.7 | $ | |
BP | 0.72% | 33.12 | $ | |
JRI | -0.19% | 13.255 | $ | |
BCC | -0.58% | 138.1 | $ | |
BCE | -0.46% | 33.555 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.15% | 24.776 | $ | |
AZN | -0.32% | 77.22 | $ |
Scandal-hit France suffer Argentina loss after 'terrible week'
France captain Baptiste Serin said on Saturday his side had experienced a "terrible" week following a 33-25 defeat by Argentina in Buenos Aires, which came hours after two members of the visitors' squad were charged with rape and beating a woman.
France forwards Hugo Auradou, 20, and flanker Oscar Jegou, 21, were arrested on Monday and formally charged on Friday after a woman accused them of raping her multiple times and beating her in a hotel room in the city of Mendoza after last weekend's first Test.
The players have denied the accusation, and say sexual relations with the woman were consensual.
Serin's side were also without full-back Melvyn Jaminet after he was removed from the squad on Sunday for making racist comments in a video on social media.
Prop Thomas Gallo scored twice for the hosts, who levelled the two-match series after losing last Saturday to claim a first win over France since 2016.
"It's hard to find the words, because we experienced a terrible week," Serin told Canal+.
"We wanted the tour to be unforgettable, but unforgettable on the field.
"Things have happened which don't reflect what we want to reflect, I won't go into details. Today, I'm proud of what we did on the field."
Youngster Mickael Guillard and veteran flanker Judicael Cancoriet replaced Auradou and Jegou in the starting line-up as Fabien Galthie's second-string side eyed a first series success over Los Pumas since 1998.
Another player missing was scrum-half Antoine Dupont as French rugby's poster boy prepares to play sevens at this year's Paris Olympics.
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi handed flanker Pablo Matera his 100th cap for the game at a sold-out Estadio Jose Amalfitani, having lost his first game in charge of the team seven days ago.
- Half-time lead -
Galthie's side began sluggishly lacking possession and territory before Dupont's stand-in Serin pounced on an Argentina error to open the scoring after 10 minutes.
The teams were level by the end of the first quarter as prop Eduardo Bello responded for the visitors with Santiago Carreras' conversion making it 7-7.
Contepomi's outfit continued to dominate and led 21-10 at the break after the referee awarded the hosts a penalty try after a powerful scrum and fly-half Carreras crashed over after France outside-half Antoine Hastoy kicked a penalty.
Les Bleus returned from the interval better and were back ahead with half an hour remaining as Pau team-mates Emilien Gailleton and Theo Attissogbe scored to make it 25-21.
Argentina's hopes of a first win over France in five games were handed a boost as Les Bleus prop Georges-Henri Colombes was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on lock Lucas Paulos with 23 minutes to go.
The hosts made Colombes' absence count as 25-year-old Gallo crossed twice, with Carreras converting one of the tries, to take the score to 33-25 with 13 minutes left.
Colombes' return to the field failed to inspire a comeback as Argentina prepared for next weekend's Test in Montevideo against Uruguay and the upcoming Rugby Championship on a positive note.
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN