2023-10-16 14:21:21
Failed again. Beaten on Sunday October 15 by South Africa in the quarter-final of the World Cup (28-29), the French rugby team will not be world champions for the first time in 2023.
This defeat enters directly into the list, necessarily subjective, of the greatest disillusionments of French sport.
► Seville 1982, the unforgettable semi-final
Patrick Battiston evacuated on a stretcher after being hit by the German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher without the referee finding anything wrong with it… The French who lead 3-1 against the Germans during extra time, before being caught in the score and losing on penalties… Chancellor Helmut Kohl and President François Mitterrand who sent a joint press release after the meeting to calm things down…
Through its dramaturgy, the France-Germany Football World Cup semi-final, played in Seville on July 8, 1982, entered the history of sport as one of the greatest matches ever played. In France, this “night of Seville” remains above all “the” defeat which marked the memories of an entire generation. She has also inspired writers, song and comic book authors, and even a theater director.
► Laurent Fignon 1989, eight seconds too long
On the morning of the start of the final stage of the 1989 Tour de France, on July 23, Laurent Fignon wore the yellow jersey with a 50-second lead over his American rival, Greg LeMond. The two runners have engaged in an intense duel since the start of the event and a 24.5 km time trial, drawn between Versailles and Paris, is still on the program to decide between them.
Laurent Fignon set off last in this solo effort, while his rival achieved the best time, equipped with an aerodynamic suit and mounted on a bike with triathlete handlebars. Laurent Fignon, who suffered from a slight crotch injury, ultimately lost 58 seconds and lost the Tour. Once he crossed the finish line on the Champs-Élysées, he collapsed and fell to the ground. Forever, he will remain the cyclist who lost the Grande Boucle by eight seconds.
► France-Bulgaria 1993, the nightmare of the Parc des Princes
Those who were in the stands of the Parc des Princes on November 17, 1993, have not forgotten the leaden screed that suddenly fell on the Parisian enclosure. And those who were in front of their television sets still have in mind the “Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch, what a disaster” by Thierry Roland, the star commentator of TF1. ” It is the end “adds his sidekick Jean-Michel Larqué.
Ten seconds from the end of the France-Bulgaria match, the last in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup, Bulgarian striker Emil Kostadinov has just deceived French goalkeeper Bernard Lama and given the advantage (2-1 ) to his own. A goal synonymous with elimination for the Blues, for whom a draw would have been enough.
Here they are brutally removed from the road to the American World Cup, while the loudspeakers were preparing to broadcast America, Joe Dassin’s hit. A nightmare for this team, which included Didier Deschamps.
► France-Russia 2002, game, set and match
The Davis Cup tennis, in its old format, often gave the French the opportunity to experience suspenseful scenarios. Sometimes, for their greatest happiness. Not on December 1, 2002, the third and final day of a final between France and Russia organized at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The Blues are then the title holders and the room is full.
After a Friday which saw both teams score a point, the French took the advantage on Saturday by winning the double. They have two singles left, on Sunday, to pocket a 3rd point and lift the Silver Salad Bowl.
Sébastien Grosjean fails against Marat Safin. Then comes the turn of Paul-Henri Mathieu, opposed to Mikhail Youzhny. The Strasbourg player leads 2 sets to 0, then 4 to games to 2 in the third set. Success is near. But Mathieu loses this 3rd set and the next two. Russia wins its first Davis Cup.
► France-England 2007, the English lesson
That year, the French XV also thought they would win the Rugby World Cup at home. Hadn’t the Blues eliminated the New Zealanders in the quarter-final (20-18), a resounding feat which had propelled them to the rank of favorite? On October 14, 2007, the Stade de France was full to see them challenge the English in the semi-final. Giant screens have been deployed throughout the country.
TF1 will also record its largest audience in history for a rugby match with 18.3 million viewers, a record that still stands. But nothing goes as planned. After 90 seconds, the XV de la Rose scored a try following an error from fullback Damien Traille. The boot of English fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, with clinical precision, does the rest. The match ends with a 14-9 which eliminates the French.
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