2023-09-08 07:10:33
The opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup will pit the Blues against the All Blacks on Friday evening at the Stade de France. A meeting which will be played behind closed doors, a sign of the enthusiasm around this eighth match between France and New Zealand, whose rivalry will delight fans of both countries and the oval.
From the first final in the history of the Rugby World Cup, in 1987, to that of 2011, including the “miracle of Twickenham”, the rivalry between France and New Zealand has been written by dint of memorable battles in the competition. The match on Friday September 8, opening the World Cup in France, already promises to write a new chapter.
A miracle at Twickenham
For fans of the All Blacks and the Blues, the 1999 semi-final will remain a match apart. For this competition on English soil, the New Zealanders came forward as indisputable favorites. The campaign was akin to a remake of the Norman invasion of 1066 with, in the role of William the Conqueror, the winger Jonah Lomu, author of six tries even before the last four: the XV de la Rose easily beaten, 100 points given to Italy… Everything was going as planned – until the match against France.
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Ian Borthwick, a New Zealand journalist working for the French sports daily L’Équipe, was present on October 31, 1999 at Twickenham stadium, just like 73,000 supporters: “As of today, there is not much to say,” he explains. “France scored 33 points in the second half without any reaction. They blew New Zealand away.”
The current coach of the Blues and former scrum half of the XV of France, Fabien Galthié, jubilant during the “miracle of Twickenham”. © Jean-Lou Gautreau, AFP
Jonah Lomu’s two tries in the first period were not enough to stop the French demonstration, which ended with a score of 43-31. But this match, quickly nicknamed the “Twickenham miracle”, is far from being the only one to have left its mark.
“They bring out the best and worst in each other.”
While as a team from the southern hemisphere, the South African Springboks are often considered the All Blacks’ biggest rivals, the story is different if we only consider the World Cup. Matches between the French and New Zealanders generally reach peaks of surprises, excitement but also disappointments etched in the minds of the fans.
“They bring out the best and the worst in each other,” says Ian Borthwick. “It’s the most beautiful rivalry in the history of the World Cup!”
Out of the total of seven matches, the advantage goes to the All Blacks, who have won five duels. Starting with the first of them, in 1987. A high-stakes match, since it was the very first final in the history of the World Cup.
This takes place on New Zealand soil, at the Eden Park stadium in Auckland, at a time when geopolitical tensions between the two countries are at their highest. Two years earlier, in 1985, two French agents planted a bomb on the “Rainbow Warrior”, a Greenpeace ship docked in Auckland Harbour, killing one person. The incident led to the resignation of French Defense Minister Charles Hernu.
The sporting context is not lighter. Rugby Almanack editor and former Samoa international Campbell Burnes remembers watching the match on television when he was just thirteen. He especially remembers the dramaturgy surrounding the match, marked by the recent memory in the southern hemisphere of the “battle of Nantes” – a surprise victory for the French at the end of 1986, considered one of the most important matches violent in the history of rugby, in the purest tradition of the oval. Wayne “Buck” Shelford, who lost four teeth and tore his scrotum during the match, later said he suspected French of having taken amphetamines. On the Blues side, we continue to deny any excess of commitment today. The French XV, however, did not repeat their feat and it was the All Blacks who comfortably won 29 to 9.
A forward pass not whistled for history
After 1987 and 1999, there was 2007 in Cardiff. For the most superstitious New Zealand fans, this match was marked from the start by bad omens. First, the All Blacks were forced to play in grey, a sacrilege against their very nickname. Then, just before kick-off, the French XV decided to challenge the New Zealanders during their haka: the players advanced to the halfway line to challenge their opponents eye to eye. A staging considered disrespectful and provocative by supporters.
Superstition or not, the match was lost by a twist of fate for the All Blacks. In the 68th minute, French full-back Damien Traille made a forward pass, not whistled by the referee, to Frédéric Michalak, who took the opportunity to score the decisive try of the quarter-final.
Frédéric Michalak’s winning try in the 2007 quarter-final. © William West, AFP
For New Zealand, this is the earliest elimination in a World Cup. All Blacks fans are eternally angry with Wayne Barnes, the English referee of the match. Former Samoa international and journalist Campbell Burnes, a slightly more objective observer than fans of both camps, believes there was definitely a backlash. But, he recalls, the All Blacks “really didn’t play well while the French tackled like demons… From composition to tactics, the New Zealanders made plenty of mistakes.”
Four years later, it is once again at the top of the competition that the two teams meet, and once again at Eden Park in Auckland. After having easily disposed of the Blues in the group, the New Zealanders experienced a slightly more stressful final. And in the end, the All Blacks only won by the smallest of margins (8-7) in a hard-fought match.
Campbell Burnes, covering the match for the New Zealand Herald, described it as “almost unwatchable… The last quarter, everyone was very stressed.” For him, “France, once again, led by Thierry Dusautoir, played exceptionally… It was really tight.”
Even the taciturn New Zealand coach Graham Henry is boiling in his seat. Fortunately, he can count on his captain, Richie McCaw, later voted player of the decade in 2010. He plays the match heroically with a broken foot. Despite everything, he describes the end of the encounter at loggerheads as “the best 20 minutes of [sa] vie”.
A gap closed between the two teams
As the 2023 World Cup kicks off, Ian Borthwick believes the gap between the two teams is now almost closed. In the past, he explains, “France never had the consistency that the All Blacks were able to have. But that is no longer the case today.”
At the forefront of the Blues-All Blacks rivalry since the early days, he details the reasons for the French success: French rugby now generates more money, which allows for better development. The Top 14, the French championship, is a major asset: considered the best championship in the world, it attracts foreign talent, which helps improve the level of French players through the transfer of skills.
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But for the journalist, the real French revolution lies elsewhere: in the team spirit and culture that coach Fabien Galthié and manager Rafael Ibañez have instilled. “They’ve looked closely at what New Zealand is doing in terms of team culture. The Blues now know who they are.”
The positive dynamic of French rugby has also launched a virtuous circle: the results boost public support which in turn strengthens the confidence of the French team and so on. For Ian Borthwick, the turning point came in 2021 during the last meeting between the two teams. France beat New Zealand convincingly (40-25), with a passion characteristic of the way the All Blacks have dominated rugby for the last half century.
“There was a passion from the crowd that I had never felt in France. From the Marseillaise onwards, and throughout the match, the atmosphere was electric,” said Ian Borthwick.
“In recent years, the Blues have beaten New Zealand, they have beaten Ireland, they have put 50 points on England…” And to conclude that any result other than a victory in the competition would now be a poor performance in this World Cup.
Adapted from English by Romain Houeix.
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