For their entry into this U20 World Cup, the Bleuets defeated Spain with a score of 49-12. Despite a certain gap on the scoreboard, France captain Hugo Reus did not hide his disappointment with the content of the Tricolores’ performance.
- Hugo Reus, fly-half and captain of France
“We are not satisfied with our performance. We came up against a great team from Spain which put us in difficulty. We overplayed a bit… We tried a lot of passes after contact and other things that didn’t work when we should have played more simply and stayed within the frame. At half-time, Sébastien Calvet (Editor’s note: the coach) told us that, in terms of accounting, the score was there but that we had to do it in style because it wasn’t there. We made too many mistakes, we were too imprecise, they contested the balls in the rucks… The coach told us that we had to fix that. We came back onto the pitch without really changing things and that’s why we got a bit bored in the second half.
Everyone wanted to play their part, as Benoît Baby might say. We weren’t really connected, we didn’t work for each other. Against the Blacks, we will have to put things back in order and normally everything will be fine.
Against Spain, the Bleuets won largely for their first match of the U20 World Cup.
The summary on the Rugbyrama site and app! pic.twitter.com/Vhz1I3kbku
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) https://twitter.com/RugbyramaFR/status/1807050100503351598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
An ideal starter? I don’t know. But a good blow to the head with no real consequences can’t do us any harm. We know that we are expected. This match shows us that we must remain humble. If we don’t continue to work well in training, we won’t go far…
My drop conversion? I think the frustration spoke, we didn’t manage to get our game in place. We wanted to get some rhythm, we wanted to continue scoring, that’s why I’m trying to convert into a drop.”
- Geoffrey Malaterre, third line of the Bleuets
“My two tries did something strange to me because it was my first in the World Cup and they are my first two tries in the blue jersey. It’s always very special though… The third rows, we have to stay in the corridors. We can join in the game of the big guys, but I like this strategy! Sébastien Calvet said that I was a lamb when I took a break from rugby sevens. He wants the wolf to come out of there! sheepfold from now on! It’s not easy to find this balance, I channeled myself a lot as a seven, now I’m going to gain strength individually and collectively.
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Was there too much desire to play? Yes and no. We really helped ourselves with passes after contact but that quickly put us back in a complicated situation. They didn’t all go through and sometimes we got ourselves into difficulty all by ourselves. Maybe we should focus on that, know when to do them or not so that we are well adjusted against the Baby Blacks.”
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- Julien Burguillos, Spain winger
This match was special for the number 14 of the Spanish team. Born in Hérault, he was still playing at the regional level in juniors, in Poussan, two years ago. After a few matches in National 2 with Nîmes last season, he is now playing at the MHR in the Espoirs category. He was playing for the first time against his country after taking Spanish sporting nationality.
“A few months ago, I was in contact with the coach. I took part in several training camps with the U20s and that’s how it happened. At first, I was surprised because I wasn’t necessarily expecting that at the start of the season.
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There are several of us who are of French origin in the selection, so our teammates asked us if we were going to sing the Marseillaise. I said no. But I still sang it in my head! My friends, it made them laugh that I played against my country. They told me it was going to be weird and it was.
When you’re little, the French XV is a team that you watch and want to play for. To be up against them was special. Last year, I watched the Bleuets’ progress. There were players that I followed, so I was happy. During the anthems, it was weird too. It was the hardest part… On one side you hear the Marseillaise and on the other you hear the anthem of the country you play for. I managed to enjoy both!
In this match, we lacked experience. France knew how to manage their match when we didn’t make the right choices. They have a big pack, they advanced on all the impacts. Physically, at the end, we were struggling too. But there are positives to remember!”
