South Africa rallied after a red card but fell narrowly short of a victory over France in Toulouse, where Kurt-Lee Arendse and Eben Etzebeth produced eye-catching performances.
The Springboks came inches short of claiming what would have been a memorable victory in France after they were reduced to 14 men when flank Pieter-Steph du Toit was sent off in the 12th minute.
After falling 13-0 down, the Boks produced a magnificent comeback effort and led 26-22 in the second half, but France scored a try and penalty in the final 10 minutes to snatch a 30-26 win.
Arendse, who scored a well-taken try in the second half, was voted as the Bok MVP by the fans after a poll run by SARugbymag.co.za shortly after the match.
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The winger made the most metres of any player in the match (107) and also scored a well-taken try in the second half, which earned him 26% of the vote.
Narrowly following Arendse in the poll was Eben Etzebeth after the lock turned in another commanding display in what has been an excellent year for the Test centurion.
Etzebeth, who made 49 metres from nine carries and won a turnover, earned 22% of the vote.
Other favourites included captain Siya Kolisi (13%), wing Cheslin Kolbe (10%) and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk (9%).
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Photo: Twitter/@Springboks
