Successful entry of France’s XV in the opening World Cup

They didn’t want to miss the opportunity to enter “their” competition. However, everything that could go wrong for the French national team during the opening minutes of the opening match of the 2023 World Cup has happened. The try was awarded after two minutes of play, followed by a key piece of the French chessboard being hit ten minutes later. Despite this, and the result that had its share of erasure, the French men’s rugby team defeated New Zealand, Friday, September 8, at the Stade de France (27-13).

Victory in style on the scoreboard, which incompletely reflects the development of the game. “We all know we can do better, French captain Antoine Dupont said after the meeting. In the end, it was an average game on our part and gave the All Blacks nearly 30 points. » In addition to the satisfaction of being the first team in history to defeat the New Zealand national team during the group stage of the World Cup.

After a somewhat outdated opening ceremony – in which he strummed old French strings and accordion strains, but managed to bring the atmosphere to a boil – during which Emmanuel Macron suffered booing, the blues immediately picked up. After a brilliant break-in from midfielder Rico Ioane, New Zealand winger Mark Tilia found himself on the receiving end of a foot pass from full-back Beauden Barrett and scored, after one minute and thirty-two seconds, his first World Cup test. For the French fans, some of whom compared public transport to get to the stadium to a sauna, the cold shower was a surprise.

“We were a little stuck in the atmosphere, even though we were prepared for it.”Coach Fabien Galthieh analyzed it after the match, expressing his regret for what happened to his forces “She gave those black people some very easy keys.” During the first period that was characterized “Very bit of malice” After giving the impression that their opponents were in control of the match. After suffering a crushing defeat two weeks ago by South Africa (35-7) at the end of preparations, the New Zealanders took revenge, despite being deprived at the last minute of their captain Sam Keane, who was injured the previous day during training.

Discipline restored

During the first period as the frustrated Blues fended off the Blacks who were not necessarily the most inspired after their first attempt, hooker and France’s XV executive, Julien Marchand, soon left his partners with a groin injury. This powerful blow did not disturb the peace of the blues. “We have built this trust over the years, through different living scenarios and contexts that we have experienced today [vendredi]“We don’t need to panic.”Antoine Dupont insisted. Not even after the All Blacks’ second try at the start of the second half, an almost perfect relocation of the try from earlier in the game, with Mark Tilia once again indefensible at the end.

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