Schedule, statistics, records… Everything you need to know before the confrontation between the Blues and the Leek XV, this Saturday at the Stade de France.
Where to follow France-Wales
The kick-off of the last match of this Six Nations Tournament, against Wales, will be given at 3:45 p.m. at the Stade de France. A meeting broadcast live on France 2 and commented on by the Matthieu Lartot-Dimitri Yachvili duo. This match can also be followed live on lefigaro.fr with expert comments from Thomas Larroquette.
This meeting is refereed by a former scrum half of … Racing 92 (from 2007 to 2010), Nic Berry. The 39-year-old Australian was forced to retire early in September 2012 after suffering a series of concussions while playing for Wasps.
Ramos better than Wilkinson?
Will the back of Stade Toulousain go down in history this Saturday? He has the opportunity. With 68 points scored during the first four days, Thomas Ramos can become the best scorer of the XV of France on an edition. A record that belongs to Gérald Merceron, 80 points during the 2002 Grand Slam. With 13 more points, the striker would therefore exceed this mark. Better still, he can aim for the absolute record: Jonny Wilkinson’s 89 points in the 2011 edition. For this, Thomas Ramos must score 21 points for the Welsh. Complicated but not impossible for a player who has just scored 23 (!) for the English at Twickenham and who has averaged 17 points since the start of this Tournament.
Read alsoSix nations: Thomas Ramos, a continuity finally found in the France team
Welshmen and a XV of France centenarians
In difficulty, the Welsh coach, Warren Gatland, decided to recall the old guard. They will thus be four centenarians (in number of selections) at kick-off: Alun Wyn Jones (37 years old, 157 selections), George North (30 years old, 112), Dan Biggar (33 years old, 106) and Taulupe Faletau (32 years) which will rightly honor its 100e selection at the Stade de France. In comparison, on the French side, only one player has more than 50 selections: Gaël Fickou and his 78 caps…
This bar of 100 will also be reached by … the XV of France, which has played 99 matches at the Stade de France since the reception of Ireland, February 7, 1998. The results? 64 wins, 33 losses and two draws.
attacking blues
At the dawn of this 5e and last day of the Tournament, the Blues display the best attack of the competition, with 133 points scored (ahead of Ireland, 122). In number of tries, French and Irish are tied: 16 scored each. With a magic quartet: Thibaud Flament, Charles Ollivon, Damian Penaud and Thomas Ramos, authors, each, of three essays…
Read alsoXV of France: “Confidence can play tricks on us”, warns Dupont
Fickou celebrates its tenth anniversary
It’s a birthday that asks its player. Gaël Fickou will celebrate his tenth anniversary this Saturday in the blue jersey. A lease started on March 16, 2013 when coach Philippe Saint-André brought in the 18-year-old kid six minutes from the final whistle of France-Scotland. Passed by RC Toulon, Stade Toulousain, Stade Français Paris and, currently, Racing 92, the three-quarter center will honor against Wales his 79e selection (60e tenure). Fickou is at 13 tries registered.
Vinaigrette leeks
The Blues got their revenge. Since their elimination by a small point in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup (19-20), they have not lost against the XV du Leek. Chaining four victories, two at the Stade de France (38-21 and 32-30) and two at the Principality Stadium (23-27, 9-13). If we exclude the big victory in the Autumn Cup, in the Tournament, the gap has never exceeded 4 points. However, it was time to reverse the trend because, before this current series, the XV of France had lost eight of its nine confrontations with the players of the Welsh Principality…
