The battle against the All Blacks left its mark. Heroic, courageous, valiant, efficient: there are not enough superlatives to describe the performance of Antoine Dupont's teammates against the men in black. Unfortunately, Galthié's troop lost several men in combat, notably Tevita Tatafu, replaced in the 10th minute by a Georges-Henri Colombe who was remarkably determined for 70 minutes.
The Blues can savor their victory against the Blacks at the end of a match of great intensity. But the autumn tour is not yet over, and there is still a match left for the French XV next Friday against a formidable Argentina team. The French now have a few days to prepare for the reception of the Pumas and recover from a tough fight which left its mark. Against Ardie Savea's teammates, the gang Dupont suffered physically and lost important players to injury. Starting with right pillar Tevita Tatafu.
Hit in the first action of the game, the Aviron Bayonnais player was forced to leave his partners in the 10th minute of play, leaving Georges-Henri Colombe with the difficult mission of finishing the match. Suffering from a crutch, his participation in the next France – Argentina is today written in the conditional.
Taofifenua concussed, “no worries for Boudehent”
The young right pillar could not be the only one to miss the clash against the Argentinians next Friday at the Stade de France. Substitute at kick-off, Romain Taofifenua returned to the pitch just six minutes into the second half to replace Emmanuel Meafou. The Racingman, victim of a head collision with his teammate Reda Wardi, was quickly replaced by Charles Ollivon. “The concussion protocol turned out to be positive or negative, it depends”, said Fabien Galthié at a press conference. Unless there is a miracle, he will not be available for the last match of this fall tour.
On the other hand, concerning Paul Boudehent, the news is reassuring. Also released before the end of the match to undergo a concussion protocol, the Rochelais, author of an incredible gameshould be able to hold his place against the Pumas after having responded positively to the various tests. “It was a lot of running, there was really a lot of intensity, whether on the movement or on the impacts, debriefed the third line with a smile. Frankly, it was really a very big match like we rarely get used to playing. These are matches that we will all keep in mind.”
France
