Couple David Reyrat
Published yesterday at 10:54 p.m., Updated 2 hours ago
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The Blues won 96-0 against Namibia. But the suspicion of a serious injury to Dupont’s face eclipses the joy.
The festival was underway. The Blues, diligent and inspired, ruthless and daring, reassured everyone by facing the modest Namibians (96-0) this Thursday, at the Marseille Vélodrome. Until that damn 44th minute. Antoine Dupont, violently hit in the face, leaves his partners to go to the hospital without delay. While waiting for the verdict, France is trembling…
The dark worry Dupont
Everything was going well for the Blues until the 44th minute. The captain and center of Namibia, Johan Deysel, does not control his tackle on Antoine Dupont (he will be sanctioned with a red card). His head hits the face of the captain of the XV of France. Which remains stunned on the lawn of the Vélodrome. It takes him a while to get up, touching his jaw and wincing in pain. His dark look didn’t bode well. The essential scrum half of the XV of France immediately left to undergo examinations at the hospital. First in Marseille, then in Aix-en-Provence. While waiting for the diagnosis, the anxiety is at its peak. “To be precise, there is a suspicion of a crack or fracture on the maxilla», indicated Fabien Galthié after the meeting. An injury which would compromise the rest of his World Cup, not to be even more alarmist. After Romain Ntamack’s withdrawal, the loss would be incalculable for the Blues and all their supporters.
The magnificent response of the Blues
We awaited the reaction of the Blues, a week after their indigestible broth against Uruguay. It is an understatement to say that the French staff did not appreciate it, changing their tune to revive the executives. And demand reassuring, solid, clean performance. Message received by Antoine Dupont and his partners who achieved a high-level match. An offensive bonus (4 tries scored) pocketed in the 21st minute. Four more at the break (54-0), or one try every five minutes. And too bad for the unfortunate Namibians. It was necessary to extinguish emerging doubts, to stifle criticism before it really spread. For this, the Blues were able to count on a gala hinge, Dupont certainly, but also a Matthieu Jalibert perfect conductor. With, in tune, hungry forwards and three-quarters thirsty for restarts, wide open spaces and flights under the clamor of the Vélodrome stadium.
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Records in spades
Impossible to describe in detail the offensive orgy of the Tricolores, authors of 14 tries. Special mention to the Blues’ third try: recovery from Jalibert, which drives the African defenders crazy: pass to the right for Dupont, who puts it back; chistera on the right for Penaud, who returns; passes on a step, this time on his left, for Ollivon. Who becomes the most prolific forward in the history of the Blues (15 tries) ahead of Olivier Magne. There were other records. The biggest victory for the French XV, in the World Cup (87-10 in 2007) but also in all matches combined (99-7 against Brazil in 1974).
On an individual level, thanks to his hat-trick, Damian Penaud brought his tally to 12 tries scored in 2023. Matching Philippe Saint-André’s total in 1995… As for Antoine Dupont, he ended 18 months (and 10 matches) of drought, he who had not scored a try in Blue since the last match of the 2022 Six Nations Tournament against England. What else to emphasize? For his first World Cup match at the age of 31, Jonathan Danty flattened twice. And the kid Louis Bielle-Biarrey struck again: a magnificent decisive pass for Danty when receiving a pass at the foot of Jalibert, then two personal tries, the first when receiving an offering at the foot of Dupont, the second after an 80 meter race. The UBB will-o-the-wisp once again scored points in his long-distance match with Gabin Villière…
See also – Rugby World Cup: France-Italy, how to prepare for the match?
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