“A World Cup in France, we won’t live through it anymore”

2023-10-16 14:35:02

Several players from the French XV confided their immense disappointment after their narrow defeat on Sunday evening against South Africa in the quarter-final of the World Cup. They are eliminated from a competition that they dreamed of winning after four great years of preparation. And if this talented generation can still offer France, in four years, its first Webb Ellis trophy, it has lost the opportunity to do so at home.

Published on: 10/16/2023 – 2:35 p.m.

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The short defeat (29-28) of the French XV, Sunday October 15, against South Africa in the quarter-final of “its” World Cup generates an immense disappointment living up to the hopes placed for four years in this team and its golden generation.

After an equally cruel outing against Wales at the same stage of the competition (20-19) during the 2019 World Cup in Japan, this setback still amounted to nothing: a small point, a transformation undoubtedly countered by illicit manner, a perhaps deliberate South African forward, an unsanctioned Springbok scrum at the end of the match, a few dropped balls… But this time, it was at home, in a World Cup where the Blues were among the big favorites.

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Like the refereeing of the South African Jaco Peyper in Japan, that of the New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe at the Stade de France was not to the taste of the French, captain Antoine Dupont considering that he had “not been at the level of the issue.

Ben O’Keeffe “is not alone”, reacted for his part the coach Fabien Galthié, whose mandate runs until 2028 and who was confirmed in his position on Monday by the president of the French Rugby Federation, Florian Grill. “The TMO (the video referee, Editor’s note) and the surrounding referees have the time to review the images like us and have the right to take part in the arbitration.”

“Mistakes” that the rare teammates of Dupont to appear before the press after the defeat also mentioned, without this bitterness outweighing the immense disappointment. Because this is undoubtedly not the main explanation for the defeat.

The big mistakes of the Blues

“It’s always easy to talk about refereeing. There were some pretty blatant situations on the pitch which didn’t seem to be obvious to the refereeing body,” center Jonathan Danty also noted, before adding : “To err is human unfortunately (but) it was not the refereeing which caused the match to be lost.”

“We are sad, with this result and this cruel scenario (…). We had the ingredients but we conceded points too easily,” summarized third row François Cros.

The XV of France, which seemed to be leading the match from the right end until half-time (22-19) after a first period of rare intensity, breathtaking and magnificent (six tries scored, a first in history of a World Cup quarter-final), did not last long and paid in cash for his mistakes.

Thus, we saw gross defensive errors, particularly on lost balls; a bankruptcy on high balloons; an unexpected drop in physical fitness in the second half not compensated by the bench. Gaps that we did not see in 2022 at the height of the Blues and which allowed the Springboks to stay in contact at the end of a first period during which they had been dominated.

“They stayed in their plans, signing three tries on the counter-attack in the first half, with a lot of pressure play, and they fed off our errors, the referee’s whistle to be able to score ‘at the right time and successfully,’ analyzed fly-half Matthieu Jalibert.

A better South African strategy

Another sector which has sinned: aerial play. “We clearly saw that they had used a lot of high-footed play, which allowed them to create highlights,” admitted Galthié.

“The South Africans scored on outings where they hit candles. We knew that it was going to be an area where they were going to test us,” added center Jonathan Danty. They notably targeted the young and inexperienced Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

Finally, in the ruck zones, a sector where until now the Blues had been sovereign, and the physical combat, which constitutes the DNA of the Boks, “they were very present”, estimated full-back Thomas Ramos.

The Springboks, reigning world champions, played better tactically, bringing in their bench very early, made up of experienced and talented players (Faf de Klerk, Handré Pollard), which changed the course of the match. In this area, on the French side, the replacements, crucial at this level, had much less impact.

“We can find the explanations we want, it’s over, the adventure ends there for us,” said Cros. “A World Cup in France, we won’t live through it anymore.”

With AFP