Defeated by New Zealand in the suspense finale, the Blues fail to reach the final gates

Above all, Coach Thomas Daraki’s players did what they know how to do best in this first period: tackle and tackle again. The best defense in the competition, the French national team resisted breaking the black waves in its camp (194 passes throughout the meeting). Twice in this first season the New Zealanders crossed Les Bleues’ goal line, but without successfully flattening the ball, each time being caught in French pincers.

But if the Blues showed themselves on defense throughout the competition, then their opponents achieved their victories at this World Cup with the ball in hand, scoring 209 points in four matches. The Welsh, who were corrected by the Black Ferns in the quarter-finals (55-3), can attest to this. And because of the attack, the New Zealanders ended up breaking the defensive curtain of the Blues thanks to the center of Stacy Floehler (34).^H10-10).

A degree of evenness that seemed almost logical in light of the first half, but it didn’t suit the Blues. Incredibly efficient, they scored again just before half-time, in a Test in the form of an almost perfect copy of the first. In the role of Romane Ménager, this time it was Gabrielle Vernier who shot hard (40^H17-10).

“You have to play and get the rhythm. We have the time, and we’re where we are defensively. You have to keep your cool so you don’t overplay and stay in the game,” Thomas Darach captivated the first half in the TF1 mic. Back on the sidelines, the coach had a bit of a taste at the start of his team’s second term. Faced with the New Zealanders’ determination to set the pace and play all the penalties quickly, the French cracked at the end, guilty of two huge mistakes.

kick away

First up was Emily Pollard who couldn’t control the ball close to her own goal, trying Robbie Toye (44)^H), then Teresa Fitzpatrick (60^H) a few seconds after the fault of the blue blocking. If Roman Minajer succeeds in maintaining hope by scoring a brace (65^H), it seemed that the issue was almost settled when French third row Safie Ndiaye received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle (69′).^H).

But the gap was only one point and, despite their status as the second nation in the world, New Zealand began to falter, like a direct kick touched by Crystal Murray…but a prop! A few seconds later, opener Caroline Drouin, who was on the verge of taking the winning penalty, took on even more importance. Unfortunately, his ball left the publications, taking with him the hopes of the Blues’ first World Final.

But the competition is far from over for the French, who will take on Canada on Saturday, November 12 – defeated 26-19 by the English in the other semi-final – during the third-place match. The New Zealanders will find the Red Roses to take revenge on the last final, which was won by the Black Ferns in 2017.