2023-09-09 03:18:26
The winger of the XV of France looks back on the historic success against the All Blacks (27-13), at the opening of the World Cup in France.
At the Stade de France
A strong signal sent to other nations
“Winning for the Blacks, when they were undefeated in all their group matches for ten World Cups, is huge. But, in terms of content, there is still a lot to work on, individually and collectively. We may have gone a bit in all directions. This made it difficult for us. Either way, it’s very positive. There is the score, the victory against the Blacks and still a lot of work to do. A beautiful evening… We enjoyed it… Even though we don’t have much energy left in our bodies, we are really drained. We’re going to rest straight away and think about what’s next, because we’re playing again in six days (against Uruguay on Thursday, in Lille, Editor’s note). It was exhausting…”
A success in two stages
“Both teams suffered the heat from the first half. It was complicated, but we know that the Blacks also lacked juice, particularly on offensive actions. They put a lot of pressure on us on kicking games. Finally, we managed to raise our heads in the second half and above all to make very few mistakes throughout the match (4 penalties conceded, Editor’s note). That’s what allowed us to win.”
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Better physical preparation?
“Not necessarily. I think what we did well was making very few mistakes throughout the match. It’s something very, very positive, we were able to build on that. Despite this victory, there is still a lot to work on. But the evening is very positive, we will be able to continue to build to a crescendo.”
A complicated first half
“There was perhaps the first action of the All Blacks which really surprised us. They make a big crossing for us and we end up directly at home. This surprised us. But, behind us, we were able to close the ranks a little, especially on high balls, which allowed us to keep a lot of possession. We had a first half which was not far from being catastrophic, but the positive thing was that we hung on to the Blacks.”
A duel in the kicking game
“They used the kicking game very well. There have been a lot of exchanges in this sector. This made it difficult for our forwards and for us (the backs) on the outside. It was very exhausting, it put us under pressure. But we were able to reverse it, and our discipline allowed us not to play too much in our camp.
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The look at his match
“Very good defense and bad attack, I would simply say… Still work, connections to find with the guys. The heat may also have caused me to lose some lucidity. But I’m going to see what there is to work on. I’ve already managed to contain Will Jordan, that’s already a very good thing. But there is still a lot of work to do…”
The wait before the match
“We were able to prepare him, especially during the (preparation) match against Australia. With the warm-up timing which was very tight, the fact of staying locked in the locker room all together. We had already prepared for it against Australia, it seemed quite natural to us.”
The crazy atmosphere
“We felt the stands shaking with every action. Whether in attack or defense, we felt supported. Even if we were at the end of the energy bar, we tried to go even further. To make these little efforts to stay connected in defense.”
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