France edged past Argentina 23-21 last night with fate on their side.

In the end it all came down to Emiliano Boffelli.

With the clock running down, the Argentina full-back had a chance to reclaim the lead after what had been a one-sided contest turned into what should be one of the closest encounters this tournament.

French Captain Guilhem Guirado says the clock was ticking in his head during the dying stages of the match.

Very very proud of my boys, it was a tough game tonight but we are very happy to start the competition with a win. We will continue to work hard. We did not perform very well in the first half but we are proud of the second half. Very clinical and when we play like this we are very dangerous.}

France will face USA in their next pool match on the 2nd of next month.