They shone at the Stade de France. The players of the French XV beat the All Blacks (27-13) on Friday September 8, during the first match of the Rugby World Cup. After an opening ceremony designed by Jean Dujardin on the theme of France of yesteryear, a dream poster awaited the public to officially launch the competition. This opening clash was mainly played out on details, between a spectacular French team in recent years and the All Blacks, triple world champions. – but which are undoubtedly less frightening than in previous editions. This live is now over.
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Notable absences, but confidence remains. The French XV lost several key players during the preparation phase, starting with fly-half Romain Ntamack, who suffered a serious knee injury and was out of the entire competition. The pillar Cyril Baille (calf), the second line Paul Willemse (thigh) and the center Jonathan Danty (ischios) are also missing against the All Blacks, but they should be able to play the rest of this World Cup. That said, even without these executives, the France team has made a strong impression in recent weeks, notably during the overwhelming victory (41-17) against Australia during the last preparation match.
The nations of the Southern Hemisphere are (almost) no longer scary. Entern 2012 and 2019, the Blues only won two of their 23 matches against the three big nations of the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand and South Africa). But since 2021 and the arrival of Fabien Galthié on the French bench, the trend has been completely reversed (which is also valid for other European nations): five victories in seven matches.
A much-anticipated haka. It was, just after the national anthems, the first kick-off of the match, when the New Zealanders performed this ritual dance, which can have a destabilizing effect on the opponent. There is no doubt that the Blues have thought about their attitude during this very important moment. “We try to challenge, at least through the look, to show that we are in the game and that we are ready to take up the challenge”, advises former international winger Vincent Clerc on franceinfo sport, who has known a few. The New Zealanders, however, sang their haka without their captain, Sam Crane, who was withdrawn from this match.
Cooling breaks during matches. While Ile-de-France is placed on heatwave orange alert, the seven matches to be played in this opening weekend of the World Cup will be marked by weather, allowing the players to drink. These refreshment breaks will take place during a normal interruption of play. “The process will be managed by the referee”, specifies World Rugby, the organizing body, in a press release. The thermometer will approach 30°C when France-New Zealand kicks off.