2023-09-09 12:30:35
At the end of a rather messy match in the first half, the French managed to dominate New Zealand (27-13) on Friday during the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. A success which allows the Blues to approach the rest of this competition launched in a very good way at the Stade de France with more serenity.
Published on: 09/09/2023 – 2:30 p.m.
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The All Blacks had chosen to challenge the French with arms in hand. Scrum-half Aaron Smith, who led the haka for the opening match of the World Cup on September 8, appeared on the pitch at the Stade de France with a patu in his hand, a club of type of puzzle used by the Maori. They intended to win the fight in this arena where they had lost once morest this same XV of France in November 2021 (25-40).
The start of the match and the try scored in the second minute by Mark Telea on a superb serve at the foot of Beauden Barrett helped to strengthen their hopes. The All Blacks quickly proved that they were capable of defeating the French in defense. Their goal was not to let the French take the score and take the lead. In a stifling bowl with a temperature of 30 degrees at kick-off, they were able to chill the stadium.
“We didn’t have control of the game in the first half, we were caught up a lot by the atmosphere. There were a lot of small incidents,” said coach Fabien Galthié following the match. Missed tackles, dropped balls due in particular to sweat on the hands, defensive placement errors… The Blues were approximate. Just like their opponents. But they were able to take the lead at half-time by a small point (9-8) thanks to the boot of their precious scorer Thomas Ramos.
A more convincing second half
This ability to stay in the match was praised by Fabien Galthié who described the second half as a “great success” on a collective level. With the contribution of the finishers, the French have regained momentum and efficiency. After losing a first ball when flattening into the goal, Damian Penaud scored a superb try in the 55th minute, his 29th in 44 selections. Melvyn Jaminet, who entered in the 76th minute, scored his first for the Blues three minutes later.
If these two tries made the supporters of the XV of France stand up, the French public did not fail to also salute throughout the meeting the defensive prowess of the French forwards, like Grégory Alldritt. Author in particular of a valuable scratch in the 36th minute, while the All Blacks were besieging the French try line, he was named man of the match.
Like the third center line, the French knew how to keep a cool head. Even when the All Blacks regained the score in the 45th minute with a second try from Mark Telea (9-13). They continued during the last 35 minutes of play to rely on the power of their forwards to mark the All Blacks and create attacking opportunities, scoring 18 points to 0 for their opponents.
An audience record for the Blues
“We wanted to secure this prestigious victory. (…) We can do better but the standoff was won and we are very satisfied,” summarized Fabien Galthié. The Blues can also feel relieved because they knew that their predecessors had experienced cruel disillusionment in this same stadium in 2007 during the opening match of the World Cup organized in France. Argentina then won (17-12), plunging the French players and their supporters into deep doubt.
This time, the party was a success in front of more than 15 million viewers on the TF1 channel, an audience record at the start of the Rugby World Cup. Nearly 78,700 spectators were gathered in the stands, including French sports stars such as footballers Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroux. Both also went to the locker room to congratulate the Blues following the match, where they notably met President Emmanuel Macron who came to share a beer with the French group.
????????FRANCE????NEW ZEALAND????????
????Historic record for a World Cup start
????Best audience of the year????15,4 M de tvsp
????Peak at 17M tvsp (end of match)All audiences at the meeting:
✅74% pda FRDA-50
✅78% pda 25-49
✅85% pda 15-34
✅83% pda 4-14 pic.twitter.com/r1q9HPWAMG— TF1 Pro (@TF1Pro) September 9, 2023
The main downside concerns the injury to hooker Julien Marchand, forced to give up his place in the 12th minute. He is suffering from a tear in his left thigh and the Blues doctors will try to get him back on his feet as quickly as possible. The calendar is in its favor since the quarter-finals, to which the Blues can logically aspire following this crucial first victory, will take place in four weeks. Their next group meeting will be September 14 in Lille once morest a Uruguay team well within their reach. The French management should then take advantage of this to give the executives some breathing space and give them playing time.
Read alsoFind all the results and schedule for the World Cup
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#Blues #full #confidence