The XV du Trèfle largely beat the XV du Chardon, Saturday evening at the Stade de France, and locked first place in their group. It is therefore the Springboks, second, who will face the Blues in the quarter-finals.
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There will be no longer a wait for the Blues. Following Ireland’s walk against Scotland (36-14), Saturday October 7, the French XV is guaranteed to meet South Africa in the quarter-finals of the World Cup next Sunday, at the Stade de France. A huge physical fight awaits Fabien Galthié’s men, who narrowly won (30-26) during the last opposition between the two teams, a little less than a year ago.
By finishing first in its group, the XV of France avoided a clash against Ireland, intractable against the Scots. In a Stade de France won over to the Irish cause, the XV du Chardon tried to play – refusing to take the points at the foot – to bend the defense of the XV du Trèfle, but the green line was impassable in the first period. This is evidenced by this sequence of 18 phases of play, during which the Scots continued to lose meter after meter with ball in hand (14th minute). A tough fight where Scotland left its strength, and feathers, with the early exits of fullback Blair Kinghorn (8th minute) and captain Jamie Ritchie (20th minute).
Ireland meets the All Blacks
On the contrary, the world’s leading nation showed pragmatism and efficiency during the first 40 minutes. Each Irish incursion hit the mark against an overwhelmed blue defense. A corner try from James Lowe in the 2nd minute (5-0) to start hostilities, three more (double from Hugo Keenan, strong try from Iain Henderson) to seal the deal before returning to the locker room (26 -0), the Greens wasted no time in securing first place in their group.
The start of the second act put an end to all suspense, with the yellow card received by Ollie Smith for a tripped foot on Jonathan Sexton (43rd minute), immediately sanctioned by a fifth Irish try, scored by hooker Dan Sheehan (31st minute). 0, 44th minute). The green audience can sing. And the coach, Andy Farrell, can begin his coaching to preserve his troops before the meeting against the All Blacks next Saturday. The Blues will only be able to cross paths with the Irish in the final, if the two dominant nations in world rugby in recent months take the two remaining steps until the big meeting on October 28.