Three second-half tries from France ended the brave Blitzboks’ race for a gold medal finish at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this afternoon.

A cagey first half of the first semi-final at the Stade de France finished scoreless with the South Africans’ dogged defence on full display throughout the opening stanza.

The Blitzboks had a great opportunity to strike before the break from an attacking scrum 5m from the tryline, but a Tristyn Leyds’ knock-on ended their chances of breaking the deadlock.

Former World Player of the Year Antoine Dupont came on to rapturous applause from the partisan crowd soon after the restart, but they were soon silenced after Leyds crossed the whitewash out wide for the first score of the game with four minutes left to play.

However, two quickfire converted scores from Rayan Rebbadj under the sticks and a late Jordan Sepho touchdown sealed a 19-5 win for the French to book their place in the final at the quadrennial sporting spectacle for the first time.

They await the winners later today between Fiji and Australia, with the losers of that clash set to tackle the Blitzboks in the bronze medal play-off.