2023-05-13 20:53:47
Shine at home. All the French Olympic team sports teams dream of it one year before the Paris Games. On Saturday, the French rugby 7s teams offered themselves a little shot of adrenaline and a bath of confidence in front of their public, in Toulouse, during a stage of the World Sevens Series, the world circuit.
Mistreated Friday by Ireland, the Blues have superbly raised the bar on the second day of competition. The daughters of coach David Courteix, Olympic vice-champions in Tokyo in 2021, first beat Australia (19-12), for their last group match, thanks to a double from Joanna Grisez. They then swept Great Britain in the quarter-finals (28-10) with a new double from the tricolor winger, very in legs.
Sunday, in the semi-final (10:06 am), the French will face the best nation in the world, New Zealand, who beat them in the final in Tokyo. It will take a feat for the Blue to reach the final.
“We are able to come back to the score when we are behind”
Les Bleus have confirmed the progress seen this season in the wake of a carefree youth. Fourth nation in the world, the France team superbly beat the Fijian Olympic champions (24-19) after being down 0-14. The light came from Joachim Trouabal, son of former sprinter Jean-Charles Trouabal, world record holder in the 4x100m relay in Split in 1990, who scored a hat-trick by making his speed speak.
In the quarter-finals, the French then dominated Great Britain (17-12) at the end of the suspense. It was the young Parisian Varian Pasquet (23), trained at the PUC and who plays at the Stade Français, who liberated the Ernest-Wallon stadium after the siren. This Sunday, they will also face New Zealand in the semi-finals (1:54 p.m.).
“It was inconceivable to lose in front of our audience, savored Pasquet at the microphone of Canal +. New Zealand for the girls and for us will be two big games. But we proved that we were a big team, the All Blacks do not scare us given our last result against them in the semi-finals in Hong Kong, we had the ball to win (7-12 defeat). »
“We have been paying for very big matches against good teams from the start, confirmed Jonathan Laugel at the microphone of Canal +. Great Britain, it was hard, even if they played 6 then 5 (two yellow cards). We showed resilience to go for the victory. Since the beginning of the season, it’s been a great trademark, we are able to come back to the score when we are trailing and go for victory at the end. »
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