By losing 50-49 to the reigning Paralympic champions this Saturday, the Blues, led by forward Jonathan Hivernat and defender Cédric Nankin, finished 3rd in their group. They will play their classification match for 5th place in the Paralympic tournament on Sunday.
Sign up to receive free our Libélympique newsletter every morning during the Paralympic Games.
The challenge was too great for Jonathan Hivernat, Sébastien Verdin, Cédric Nankin, and their teammates: if the players of the French team wanted to see the semi-finals of the Paralympic tournament, they had to win by at least two tries difference against Great Britain this Saturday, August 31 at the Arena Champs-de-Mars. But the Blues lost 50-49 against the reigning Paralympic champions, “their best enemies”, in the words of striker Sébastien Verdin. In fact, his team had beaten them in two European Championship finals: by one point in 2022, by six points in 2023.
France had started its Games at home well. First, the majority of the players had boycotted the opening ceremony – watched on TV from the Paralympic Village – to win, Thursday, 53-51 against Denmark, in an incandescent atmosphere provided by the 8,000 people who came to support them. A public which, for the most part, was discovering this mixed sport practiced by some 200 people in France.
But Denmark proved to be the least tough of this extremely tough group. On Friday, for their second match of the competition, the French never really managed to worry the Australians, crowned in Rio in 2016. The tactics put in place to control Ryley Batt, considered one of the best players in the world, did not allow the “Steelers” to be overthrown. “We made some silly mistakes at the start of the match, perhaps due to a lack of experience, which is unforgivable at this very high level,” lamented striker Sébastien Verdin in the mixed zone afterwards. While Batt was partly silenced by the Blues – he scored “only” 26 tries, ten fewer than his first match against the British – his compatriot Chris Bond took advantage of the situation to pull out all the stops with 27 tries. Still trailing, France never managed to catch up or make a difference.
And so, this Saturday, this second failure in two days puts an end to any hope of medals – the objective set before the competition – for the French selection. A few days before the start of the Games, the assistant coach, William Ybert, told us: “The international level has become much more homogenous in recent years. In Paris, of the eight teams present, seven can claim the title.” After the group stage, Japan, Australia, Great Britain and the United States managed to reach the last four of the tournament. For their part, the Blues will still be able to enjoy the crazy atmosphere of the Arena Champs-de-Mars during the classification matches, starting with Germany this Sunday.
Related News :