France cruise past Japan 42-15 in Nations Championship

France beat Japan 42-15 on Saturday to wrap up their Nations Championship southern hemisphere series with a comfortable win in humid Tokyo.

France scored six tries against a Japan side that never gave in but were ultimately outclassed by the Six Nations champions.

The result meant France finished their three games with wins over Australia and Japan and a loss to New Zealand, while Japan beat Italy and lost to both Ireland and France.

“We know the World Cup is a year away and we had that in our minds,” said France captain Maxime Lucu.

“We’ve played three big matches against southern hemisphere teams and we have three more in November.