PARIS (AP) — Damian Penaud overtook Serge Blanco as France's all-time leading try scorer in test rugby with his 39th try early into a 32-17 home defeat against world champion South Africa on Saturday.
Penaud latched onto a smart chip kick from fullback Thomas Ramos and ran over in the right corner untouched.
The 29-year-old Penaud took 57 tests to pass Blanco, who retired in 1991 as one of the greatest fullbacks of all time and had 38 tries in 93 tests.
Penaud added a second try in the first half to reach 40, with Ramos setting him up again following a quick line move which swept from left to right.
The sides met for the first time since 2023 when South Africa knocked out the World Cup host 29-28 in an epic quarterfinal. Eleven Springboks from that matchday 23 returned to the Stade de France.
South Africa trailed 14-13 and had a player less for the entire second half following Lood De Jager's red card but still rallied to win.
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South Africa's Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, left, is tackled by France's Damian Penaud during the rugby union Nations Series match between France and South Africa in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 . (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Damian Penaud is tackled during the rugby union Nations Series match between France and South Africa in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 . (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Damian Penaud is tackled during the rugby union Nations Series match between France and South Africa in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 . (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
NEW DELHI (AP) — India has begun the world’s largest national population count, which could reshape welfare programs and political representation across the country.
The previous census in 2011 recorded a population of 1.21 billion. It's now estimated to be more than 1.4 billion, making India the most populous nation.
The new census had been planned for 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and logistical challenges.
Here’s how India’s census works and why it is significant:
The first phase of the count started Wednesday and will roll out around the country through September. The workers will spend about a month in each area collecting information on homes and available facilities and will document housing stock and living conditions.
The exercise will blend in-person surveys with a digital option where residents can submit information through a multilingual smartphone application that integrates satellite-based mapping.
The second phase to be conducted from September to next April 1 will record more detailed information like people's social and economic characteristics, including religion and caste.
More than 3 million government workers are expected to be deployed over the course of the year. In 2011, nearly 2.7 million enumerators surveyed more than 240 million households nationwide.
The second phase of the census will attempt a broader accounting of caste beyond historically marginalized groups.
Caste is an ancient system of social hierarchy in India and is influential in defining social standing and deciding who gets access to resources, education and economic opportunity. There are hundreds of caste groups based on occupation and economic status across India, particularly among Hindus, but the country has limited or outdated data on how many people belong to them.
The last attempt to gather detailed caste information through a census dates to 1931, during British colonial rule. Since independent India’s first census in 1951, it counted only Dalits and Adivasis, members of marginalized groups known as scheduled castes and tribes.
Successive governments have resisted conducting a full caste count, arguing it could heighten social tensions and trigger unrest.
Population data collected through the census underpins the distribution of government welfare programs and a wide range of public policies.
It could also prompt a redrawing of India’s political map, as seats in the lower house of Parliament and state legislatures may be increased to reflect population growth. A 2023 law reserves one-third of legislative seats for women, so any expansion would raise the number of seats set aside for female representatives.
Irfan Ahmad checks census registration online at a registration center as the street is reflected on the glass in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
A Muslim woman checks her census registration online at a registration center in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
FILE -Mahesh Shah, left, stands as his family members look while census worker Rumima Das, writes the information on a paper on the first day of the national census at Ramsingh Chapori village, east of Gauhati, India, April 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)
FILE - Indians crowd ticket counters at a railway station in Ahmadabad, India, Oct. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
