Under water for the first half hour, the French XV showed great resilience to finally sign a prestigious victory against New Zealand (30-29) at the end of a crazy end to the match, Saturday at the Stadium from France. Enough to ignite the French press, while in New Zealand, we are starting to talk about a curse.
It was a constant fight. Trailing at the break (10-17), the XV of France ended up reversing the situation to achieve a third consecutive victory against the All Blacks, Saturday at the Stade de France (30-29), at the end of the effort and the suspense.
First asphyxiated by the vengeful New Zealanders after their defeat at the opening of the World Cup a year ago (13-27), Fabien Galthié's men showed pride and courage to, in a first time, not sinking, then not giving in at the very end of the match, when the All Blacks had come back to a small point.
“A match of breathtaking beauty”
“In large print”, headlines L'Equipe this Sunday in today's edition to talk about this capital feat, evoking a “magnificent game, monstrous in intensity and indecisive until the end”. The “furia tricolor” “found the way to turn around this match that was so badly off to a bad start, and that says something about its defense, its determination not to break, the moral resources of this group,” praises the sports newspaper.
For its part, Le Parisien speaks of a “prestige success” and “a point of honor” (in reference to the score) which allowed the Blues to “capsize” the Stade de France. Here too, the daily newspaper evokes “an unfailing mentality” and “the solidity of the leaders” of the XV of France. “What a thrill it was!”, “a match of breathtaking beauty”, enthuses the Midi Olympique after the “heroic” victory of the Blues. This meeting “thus had both the beauty of the devil and the chic of a Belle Epoque evening”, image the “Midol”.
In the New Zealand press, there are no superlatives but humor to evoke the third consecutive defeat of the All Blacks against the French. “It's probably ridiculous to think that a rugby field could be haunted but…” begins the New Zealand Herald, referring to the Stade de France. Before speaking of a “stinging defeat”, the result of “confusing decisions (by the referee) which harmed the Blacks” but also “multiple errors (in the game) which proved costly”.
