The match between France and New Zealand pits two candidates for the Top 3 in the world against each other. For New Zealand, this is already the case but the Blues, just behind, dream of taking the place of their opponents of the day.
Beauden Barrett will be in the game this evening, and will play as fly-half. For L'Equipe, the framework of this formidable New Zealand team analyzed the tricolor game, a game which he likes very much and which is represented by a high quality ambassador: Antoine Dupont. Barrett admires the captain of the Blues, both in selection and at club obviously.
I love the way the French organize chaos. A style in which Antoine Dupont excels, with a form of freedom and flamboyance. I love watching Toulouse play, which is developing magnificent Rugby (…) It's important that people continue to want to see rugby. He's the one I love to watch as a fan and the one I love to play on the field.
(…) With Antoine Dupont, we will be rivals on Saturday evening, but we share the same concept. During the World Cup in France, we had the opportunity to chat a little, with him and Matthieu Jalibert, off the field. This conversation was a blessed moment. These moments of exchange after the fight, to get to know the opponent over a beer, are the nobility of rugby.
The danger of “structural rugby”
This conception of flamboyant and spectacular rugby that he loves so much, Beauden Barrett is nevertheless very skeptical about its future. It's the fault of the rules which now govern the slightest actions of the players on the pitch, which make everything more complex. Rugby loses all spontaneity, all notion of freedom, slows down by being too supervised, and it's heartbreaking.
Because of professionalism, too many teams are locked into structural rugby, everything is compartmentalized. It gives hope to see teams like France and Fiji, who are trying, like us, to promote this lively and spectacular style. A game in which players manage to express themselves, with this notion of freedom in the search for spaces that make rugby magnificent to watch. A test, it lifts people's hearts. A flying ball, a pass after contact, it transfigures their daily life… It's still better than this structural rugby which slows down the game to the point of extinguishing it.
To summarize
The match between France and New Zealand pits two candidates for the Top 3 in the world against each other. Beauden Barrett, present this evening, analyzes the French game, with a vision of things that he adores and which he shares with Antoine Dupont. The All Black also regrets that the rugby he loves, this spectacular and spontaneous rugby, is on the verge of disappearing today.
