A week after a successful first test against Japan, the XV of France confirmed against New Zealand this Saturday at the Stade de France (30-29) after a constant fight.
We expected a match of a completely different level and the Blues were served. After a rather quiet start to this Autumn Tour, the XV of France hit a wall but showed great resilience to take the scalp of New Zealand after a fight intense and merciless (30-29).
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Trench warfare
Confident against the All Blacks and with two consecutive successes against the vice-world champions (2021 and the 2023 World Cup), the Blues were directly put in the bath by the Kapa o Pango carried out at the Stade de France. A week after a serious match against Japan (52-12), Fabien Galthié's men encountered completely different adversity this Saturday.
The commitment was such that two players were forced to come off injured after two minutes (Tatafu on the French side, Finau on the New Zealand side). If Thomas Ramos opened the scoring with a penalty (3-0, 7th), the XV of France suffered the lightning of the Blacks, effective in punishing the French mistakes. After an incredible collective action, the quadruple world champions scored a first try thanks to substitute Lakai after enormous work from Savea (3-7, 9th). Dominated by the opposing pack, the Tricolores were once again punished by the mischief of Cam Roigard, quicker than Alldritt to flatten (3-14, 27th).
Underwater in the first half hour, the XV of France showed pride in front of its public to avoid a correction. Starting for the first time in the selection, Romain Buros showed his power to leave the Blues with a converted try from the Blacks at the break (10-17, 40th).
Never two without three
Facing a disciplined New Zealand defense in the first act, Fabien Galthié's men started the second half with a bang thanks to a try from Paul Boudehent, his third in this autumn tour, to allow the French to get back on track (17-17, 44th).
But New Zealand continued to set a high tempo and continued the offensive phases. However, a turnover by the Blacks allowed Ramos to launch the Bielle-Biarrey rocket to score the Blues' third try (24-17, 51st). In an unbreathable end to the match, scorers Ramos and McKenzie boosted their statistics, even if the New Zealanders chipped away at a single point behind the French in the last five minutes (30-29, 75th). Despite fatigue, Antoine Dupont and his teammates pushed themselves to the limit to maintain this precious success after the siren. The evening is beautiful for the XV of France, which signs a third victory in a row against the All Blacks. Enough to calmly approach the last test of this Autumn Tour, against Argentina, next Friday.
Analie Simon Journalist RMC Sport
