The match: 16-20
What suspense! For a laborious French success, acquired thanks to a decision by the referees around Mr. Berry six minutes after normal time, refusing a try to the Scots who had entered the goal during their final highlight. This French XV therefore won in pain and signed its first victory in this Tournament after its inaugural defeat against Ireland in Marseille (17-38), last Friday. Winning was difficult, success was achieved in the last ten minutes and five more, the time for the referee to make his decision.
The least we can say is that this XV of France 2.0 did the best in the first period by unexpectedly reaching the break with a short delay, 13-10, considering the significant territorial domination Scottish. Indeed, in the 22nd minute, Finn Russell’s teammates led 10-3 thanks to the spectacular opening try from scrum half Ben White (7th) placed inside his attackers.
Penalized on the ground, blocked in the lineout, undisciplined (7 penalties in the first period) and clumsy, the Tricolores seemed to repeat their Marseille fiasco, a week earlier, as they left the initiative of the game to their opponent. Fortunately for them, Gaël Fickou moved to the right wing to enhance one of their rare highlights and score his fifteenth try in the corner (31st). That and the immense effort of left pillar Cyril Baille to block the Scottish scrum under the posts (40th) while the Tricolores were outnumbered after the yellow card inflicted on Uini Atonio (38th) for a dangerous tackle, allowed the XV of France to get out of it as best as possible.
After the entry of a large part of the substitutes’ bench (Roumat, Marchand, Tuilagi, Le Garrec), this French team then lost its captain Grégory Alldritt (50th) to a knee injury. And kept a clear propensity to lose its rigor and precision in the phases of conquest. Before finding the solution through play, Cros leaving on the closed side and Le Garrec strongly alerting his left winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey who, with a kick to follow, placed the ball in the in-goal to better flatten (70th), placing France in the lead for the first time, 16-17. With a goal from Thomas Ramos (77th), author of a hundred percent (4/4), she offered herself a little oxygen, before ending up in apnea in front of her goal line, avoiding defeat with nothing, with one arm, That of Scottish flanker Rory Darge blocked, it seems.
17
The entry of Alexandre Roumat into the 53rd constitutes the seventeenth selection of a “son of”, since André Haget in 1953, who succeeded his father Henri, selected in 1928.
The fact: a festival of French blunders
Fouls on the ground (4th, 19th, 66th), elastic defense (7th), ineffectiveness in front of the Scottish goal (10th), forgotten pass (15th), blocked throw-in (16th, 27th), forward on highlight ( 24th), offside (29th, 58th), yellow card (38th), mix-up (49th): after an hour of play, the Tricolores had multiplied the approximations, errors and mistakes, unable to improve their highlights, to create momentum, thus leaving the initiative to the Scots for more than an hour.
6
With this try scored in the 70th minute, Bordeaux winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey now has six goals in nine caps with the France team.
The action: a final favorable arbitrator decision
The internationals and the French staff talked a lot about the decisions of Mr. O’Keefe, the New Zealand referee of the World Cup quarter-final, narrowly lost (28-29) four months ago against to South Africa. They will probably not soon forget the decision of the Australian Nic Berry and his team of video assistants from the bunker which favored them in the final second of this tight and uncertain match, while Scotland could claim a try.
