After the defeat of the Blues against the Springboks (28-29) in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, find out what pleased and displeased our special correspondents present at the Stade de France.
FAVORITES
Cyril Baille, inspired left-hander
A full match, several angry charges and, above all, two tries scored against the Boks. Not common for a pillar… Cyril Baille was nevertheless one of the most active and decisive forwards this Sunday against the South African world champions. A top performance for the left-hander from Stade Toulousain. Fabien Galthié often repeats that Cyril Baille is the best in the world in his position. In the quarter-finals, he shined against the rough Springboks. He first scores from a corner, like a winger, well served by Damian Penaud (4th), before driving the point home, in force, after a lot of work from the French pack (31st). Unfortunately, his big match was not enough. But this unprecedented double will have left its mark.
The art of blocking and playing at the feet of world champions
Surgical. The Bocks scored three tries in the first half with an art of blocking and footwork. Picked cold, South Africa reacted immediately with composure and success. The Montpellier scrum half, Cobus Reinach, who multiplied the small kicks over the French defense, thus made a candle and the winger Arendse benefited from a favorable rebound before showing his speed (8th ). South African center Damian de Allende then also benefited from a rebound after a candle from Jesse Kriel before flattening in the in-goal. Two tests with virtually zero passes and 100% efficiency. By relying on a very aggressive defense, they pushed the Blues to make mistakes. After Dupont failed to secure his pass to Baille, Kriel, with a low kick, found the spinning Kolbe who recovered the ball and sped towards the South Africans’ third try.
Kolbe, to the good memory of the French
His last visit to Toulon did not make an impression. Surly, RCT supporters even joke that he did not play for their club. But this Sunday, in a Stade de France where he was crowned French champion with Toulouse, Cheslin Kolbe proved that he remains a (great) world class player. At 29, the Boks pocket winger had fire in his legs. Scoring, at the end of a race where no one was able to catch him, his team’s third try. Correct in his choices and his interventions, impeccable in defense, Kolbe hit hard against the Blues. Even if he missed a drop at the end of the match. He must still have in mind the masterful one he had slammed in the Top 14 final with Stade Toulousain against La Rochelle. In good memory of the French…
Read alsoFrance-South Africa: why Ramos’ transformation countered by Kolbe is debated
Perfect management of the Boks at the end of the match
Back in front in the second half thanks to a try from Etzebeth in the 67th minute, the Boks resisted until the end to win by just one point. They managed their short lead perfectly, helped, it must also be said, by the Blues’ blunders at the end of the game. The Boks left the ball to the French most of the time, relying on their iron defense to recover balls and penalties. With formidable efficiency. They particularly showed great intelligence in the kicking game, an area where they seemed inferior to the Blues. The return of the hinge Faf de Klerk and Handré Pollard also did them a lot of good at the end of the match, Pollard scoring the decisive penalty at the end of the match.
No happy ending for Atonio and “Tao”
Two emblematic players bid farewell to the French XV this Sunday in a frustrating defeat. Both aged 33, Uini Atonio (57 caps) and Romain Taofifenua (49 caps) played their last international match, against the Boks, at the Stade de France. They announced it before the start of the competition. And Fabien Galthié confirmed it at a press conference: “We already have two players who are quitting: Uini and Romain have announced their retirement to us.” Two players who have long brought their power and experience to the Blues pack. Two “papas” – and not “grandpas» – that it will be hard to replace as their place and their weight were so important in this team. Two warriors from the Pacific who would have deserved a completely different outing with the French team. They took their time on Sunday evening to leave the Stade de France pitch, walking slowly with their children at their sides.
Romain Taofifenua after the final whistle on the pitch at the Stade de France with his daughter and son. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
CLAW STRIKES
An arbitration that is incomprehensible to say the least
Mr. O’Keeffe had a reputation as a fair and balanced arbitrator. Looking back on Sunday evening, many of these decisions seemed incomprehensible. At the very least the New Zealand referee was very passive, letting the South Africans do a lot of things in the ruck zones. The most disgusted will adopt the words of Antoine Dupont judging “the arbitration is not up to the challenge”. “There were clear and obvious things that were not whistled. » Without even having reviewed the meeting in detail yet, some of these “ obvious things » resurface without difficulty. In the 6th minute, Etzebeth knocked back an undoubtedly decisive pass from Penaud into his own half. The referee judges that the ball is going backwards and does not penalize the gesture of a voluntary forward move (which could have resulted in a yellow card or even a penalty attempt). We will also mention this headbutt from Du Toit on Danty in an unsanctioned clearing (17th), this charge from the center Kriel elbow forward on the face of Dupont (25th), a forward from Du Toit clearly taken back into position offside by De Klerk which will not result in the legitimate penalty. Without forgetting the numerous defensive climbs so fast that they were certainly offside, questionable ground contests or suspicious entries on the side of the rucks. Finally, there is this transformation from Ramos countered by a Kolbe who is either supersonic or leaves before the Toulouse striker gains momentum. That Mr. O’Keeffe did not even request the video (TMO) to make sure is negligent to say the least. It should be noted that, unusually, the refereeing quartet (central, the two linesmen, the video referee) was not of mixed nationalities but 100% New Zealand. So certainly not inclined to disagree among themselves. Moreover, if Fabien Galthié refused to criticize Mr. O’Keeffe, he still added this little sentence which takes on its full meaning: “we must understand that it is not a single person who arbitrates. His video assessors have time to watch the images and participate.» Grégory Alldritt preferred to dodge. But these words were heavy with meaning. “I don’t want to talk about refereeing and keep that memory. If I think about that, I risk getting angry and having regrets. It would be a shame to keep this memory after these three months spent together…» Hooker Peato Mauvaka was less diplomatic: “On the rucks, they went in on the sides or didn’t come out of the tackle… We would have thought there would be several penalties for us, that wasn’t the case…»
Also read: XV of France: “The video was cut at that moment”, Danty points to the point of arbitration on a contentious action
The Blues cut off communication
Certainly the immense disappointment is easily understood. We share it. And the fact that we have to wait two hours after the final whistle to gather the hasty impressions of the players designated for the cruel test of confidences after elimination, still happens. The arrival of Emmanuel Macron in the locker room to comfort the Blues also explains this delay. That the service was minimal – only three players for the written press, Alldritt, Danty and Mauvaka – is starting to annoy a little. But let the press officer of the French team announce without the slightest consideration that the videoconference planned for Monday morning with… a member of the staff is canceled because “we lost, we no longer have to ”, then it gets annoying. And, finally, he brutally rejects any prospect of a real press conference in a day or two with the coach and/or his deputies to debrief the failure of this elimination, we understand that the XV of France cuts off communication , breaks the current. To reserve reactions and other analyses, without stinging contradiction, for its social networks. Increasingly pushing the media into a role of stooge, or even nasty critics, to interact directly with their fans…
Very complaining South Africans
The director of South African rugby, Rassie Erasmus, complained during the week that the Blues could, according to him, add more in certain contentious situations. “France sometimes simulates“. On Sunday, we especially saw the Springboks complaining a lot to the referee. Without anyone being offended. Hard. And yet another masterstroke from Erasmus who managed to condition the man in black through his public attack on the French.
However, the Boks have long lost their physical arm wrestling…
With its terrifying pack, the physical dimension is one of South Africa’s trademarks, yet the Springbok forwards were often pierced on Sunday evening. There was this maul from the Blues which advanced around ten meters before collapsing in front of the line at the start of the match. Suffering in the scrums and in conquest, the title holders delayed the deadline for a long time thanks to several scratches. A resilience which paid off at the end of the match, where they won the tactical battle and gained the upper hand in the titanic fight in front.
