At the Stade de France,
Fabien Galthié’s staff is the meticulous type, we are beginning to know that. Even more for an opening match of the World Cup against New Zealand. The preparation and approach to the meeting had been regulated down to the minute, and as usual, several match scenarios were put on the table so as not to be overwhelmed. But even perfect plans have flaws. Taking a try when everyone is not yet seated in their place (Mark Telea, 2nd), for example. “It’s a scenario that we hadn’t necessarily thought of,” recognizes Charles Ollivon.
We won’t blame them, it has never happened so quickly before in a first World Cup match. “On this first action, we were a little surprised, but we didn’t panic,” continues the third row of the Blues. We regrouped, we breathed, we thought about the next kick-off. Without procrastinating, by staying within the framework, and in two or three sequences we took three points. » Thomas Ramos’ penalty, three minutes later, gave everyone a breather, then a second put the French in front. Except that on the field there was always this impression of playing on the back foot and being a little timid when attacking the All Blacks camp.
The New Zealanders then seemed much more bloody with the ball in the morning, and it was almost nothing (and a starving defense from the Blues, all the same) for them to score two more tries. . At the break, we wondered how the XV of France had managed to take the lead (9-8). “We are in the match with a first half that is close to being catastrophic,” summarizes Gabin Villière. In Fabien Galthié language, it goes more like this: “You return to the locker room with the score but not having control of the game and giving easy keys to the opponent. We were caught by the pressure of the event even though we had prepared well.”
“We got our ears ripped off”
The coach’s theory is validated from the pitch by François Cros: “We were a little tense, a little tense. We didn’t go up too much to look for them. What is dangerous when we are tense is that we tend to rely on more individual actions to free ourselves. It can put the team in trouble. But we talked about it at halftime. » If the walls of the French locker room did not shake, Fabien Galthié’s debrief was still salty. “We had our ears pulled,” says Peato Mauvaka, who entered the match very early to compensate for Julien Marchand’s injury. “Yes, we got our fingers slapped,” Gabin Villière finally admitted under duress. [après deux relances, en fait]. But without too much pressure or irritation because we were all well aware of what needed to be improved. »
Returning to the pitch rejuvenated, the Blues almost scored from the start, but a small mistake two meters from the line stopped them, before Mark Telea scored twice in the following playing time. Frustrating, but here again this team has shown that over the last four years it has forged a character made of tempered steel. “We got back into it straight away, and we started to hurt the opponent,” observes Thomas Ramos. We knew how to keep the balls, which we hadn’t done in the first half, which allowed us to play more times and move forward. » Until the deliverance, this first try signed Damian Penaud (who else?) at the end of an action where we found the game inspired by the Blues, like Matthieu Jalibert’s feint to serve caviar to his wingman. “A real breath of fresh air”, said Gabin Villière.
Add to that iron discipline (only four penalties conceded throughout the match), a dominant scrum and the yellow card received by Will Jordan on the hour mark and you obtain the tipping point of the match. “There is yellow, yes, but also the entrance to the bench which did us good,” underlines François Cros. We carried the ball higher, with waste, but we felt less danger. We had fewer sequences in our 22.” The All Blacks never found the resources to reverse the trend.
The Blues finished freewheeling in the fury of the stadium, with the foot of Ramos and a last try from Melvyn Jaminet to make the party more beautiful. And to offer France two prestigious milestones: it became the first nation to beat New Zealand in the group stage since the Rugby World Cup existed, and it is the first to inflict a defeat on them by more than 12 points difference.
“Even when we are average, it’s super positive to win by scoring almost 30 points,” points out Antoine Dupont. Not false. It may not be the best All Blacks team in history, but a victory of this magnitude, and especially in this context, poses a challenge to your team. “There is a certain form of serenity that emerges,” considers Arthur Vincent. It’s been four years now since the adventure began, a collective force has been created. We all have the same project in mind. No need to draw us a picture.