If the three balls lost in touch during the first half against the Blacks could have been costly, the aerial conquest still displays interesting statistics.
Three lost balls in less than forty minutes against New Zealand is too much. Far too much. To understand this clearly, it was enough to look at the slightly disillusioned face of Laurent Sempéré, Fabien Galthié's deputy in charge of this sector of play, just at the moment of the third lost ball. Above all, these balls were stolen by the New Zealanders in their own camp, areas of play which usually offer valuable offensive ammunition to the attacking team. A hard blow for the XV of France. These three balls abandoned to the Kiwis are three times more than those lost against Japan or Argentina. Figures which still underline the good health of the aerial conquest, even if this black hole against the Blacks could have had unfortunate consequences. And that upsets the French staff…
Balloons carried securely in place
Obviously, we must emphasize the quality of the opposition. During 2024, Scott Robertson's men disrupted 30% of opposing shots. A pharaonic figure. The observation over this past year is that overall the teams are competing for balls in the air much more than in the past, organizing themselves differently to defend on the ground. And this is precisely where the Blues stand out. When the ball dropped, Galthié's players excelled. The try scored by Paul Boudehent at the start of the second half against New Zealand is a symbol of this. This carried ball, the result of a combination reproduced a week later by Argentina with great success, demonstrates the Blues' ability to win the battle of the mauls. In 2024, the French XV is the team which has gained the most meters on carried balls, just behind the surprising Scots. And even fight in defense. The French team can boast of being the nation to have conceded the fewest meters. Just as they are the most disciplined team in this phase of the game. We believe that with a little more collective experience and precision, the French aerial conquest could become one of the world's benchmarks.
France
