Against valiant Argentinians, the XV of France ended its November tour with another 37-23 victory at the Stade de France.
Preparation, action and confirmation. This is how we could summarize this tricolor triptych in this month of November, after the third victory in three matches for the French XV, last night, at the Stade de France, ahead of Argentina (37-23). Because after having seriously struggled against the Blacks following three weeks of joint preparation, it was necessary to confirm this performance against the Argentinians who had been in very good shape for six months. But, visibly, their form remained on the Stade de France square. The fault, perhaps, of disgusting bruises.
They had not put the same ingredients at the start of the match as during the two previous weekends. The commitment was less strong. Poor ball play. But the Argentinians were on the same line as their year 2024, with a start to the game punctuated by indiscipline with a yellow card in the 4th minute from captain Julián Montoya, then, later, from Juan Martín González (36th) . Allowing the French, first, to gain strength defensively, with in particular a ball blocked in their in-goal by Gaël Fickou and Paul Boudehent (13th), then to assert themselves offensively, with, among other things, 70% possession in the last ten minutes of the first period. Rare. And rather unnatural for these Blues, especially when we see how they constructed their match against Argentina. On one of the few good receptions of Pumas candles, Gabin Villière restarted, leading to a 50-22 from Gaêl Fickou. On the sideline that followed, the Blues pounded, before Thibaud Flament crossed the line (9th). Another restart allowed Fabien Galthié's players to quickly find themselves in the Argentinian 22 for Villière's try (33rd) after a nice pass after contact from Léo Barré, very good with the ball throughout the game for more than an hour before Antoine Dupont switches to the opening and Thomas Ramos to the back. Same pattern, again, on a kick from afar, Louis Bielle-Biarrey puts pressure on Juan Martín González in front of his goal line, who commits a voluntary forward. Yellow card. Penalty try (36th). The Argentines only pointed their heads downwards. Especially since history repeated itself, but this time with the winger, or the moped, of the UBB finishing his own kick on a new recovery of the ball in the Argentinian camp ( 58th).
A mixed scrum
The Pumas, inevitably, reacted with the pride that characterizes them, with two strong tries. Thomas Gallo (57th) and the Catalan Ignacio Ruiz (70th) reduced the mark. But, overall, the Argentines came up against a blue wall, again turning their opponents into the goal with a carried ball (55th), or forcing the Pumas to use a lot of energy in the center of the field. Pure mastery. Even if everything wasn't perfect. The conquest, and in particular the scrum, was fragile, with four penalties conceded (2nd, 7th, 42nd, 52nd). But the Galthié touch resurfaces, with defensive strength and newfound efficiency, far from the messy play of the last 6 Nations. And the love affair with the public therefore starts again with a vengeance. The Stade de France has chased away its demons. The Blues chased away those from Argentina last summer. The Marseillaises sung in chorus are even more beautiful. A last one almost was masterful with a try from Émilien Gailleton (78th). But the video decided otherwise. This will remain just an anecdote.
