Win over All Blacks lays foundation for France’s bright future

PARIS – France suffered heartbreak at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where they were knocked out by South Africa by a single point in the quarter-finals, but their 30-29 victory against the All Blacks on Nov 16 has laid the foundations for a potentially bright future.

Les Bleus trailed 14-3 against New Zealand at the Stade de France before fighting back after the break to prevail with three tries and a perfect kicking performance from Thomas Ramos, who started again at fly-half alongside Antoine Dupont in the absence of the injured Romain Ntamack.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Romain Buros and Paul Boudehent scored tries for France, while Peter Lakai and Cam Roigard crossed the line for the All Blacks.

“It was a special Test for us. Winning by a single point reminds us of last year. One point is nothing but it can also mean a lot,” France coach Fabien Galthie said, referring to the 29-28 defeat against the Springboks which ended France’s hopes of winning the World Cup on home soil.

“The scenario was awful at the beginning. But at half-time we found the solution, being better on the impact points. I’m very proud because we’ve now hosted them three times and we’ve beaten them three times (in a row).

“It gives us a lot of confidence. Even if they’re this formidable All Blacks side, they can be fragile, have weaknesses which we exploit pretty well when they come here.”

The victory marked a third straight triumph for France over New Zealand as they matched their best-ever run against the All Blacks, set in 1994-1995.

Their win at the 2023 World Cup opening match followed a victory in 2021. Since 1996, only South Africa and Australia have managed a three-game winning streak against the All Blacks.

Captain Dupont, who was under immense pressure by the New Zealand defence, changed his approach, being more cautious but still ruthlessly clear-sighted as France kept their composure.

“Winning against such a big team is a big confidence booster and lays the foundation for our squad. They came as a top team with top players at their peak,” the mercurial scrum-half said.

“But we knew we had the keys to turn the tables in this match and the whole team, even the newcomers, felt that.

“There is nothing more exciting (than) to live these final minutes, when you know your teammate is not going to give up.”

Galthie added: “It’s three times the All Blacks have come here to play this France team around Antoine and three times they have fallen.”

Dupont played his second 15-a-side game for his country since winning rugby sevens gold at this summer’s Olympics.

The 28-year-old had a quiet game by his standards at the Stade de France, after his two assists in the win over Japan a week ago.

New Zealand had 61 per cent of the ball, restricting the 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year’s ability to influence proceedings.

“Possession-wise, we (were) dominated,” Dupont added.

“I found it hard to find the tempo to the game I wanted. I had to find other ways of doing it, and helping the team. We had a lot of work to do in defence.”

France now need to follow that up against Argentina on Nov 22 to head into the winter break with a Series slam.

New Zealand, meanwhile, were left disappointed.

They were on a five-match winning streak – following back-to-back victories against Australia in the Rugby Championship and prevailing against Japan, England and Ireland recently.

“When they have the momentum, they’re pretty hard to stop,” said captain Scott Barrett, whose side will conclude their tour against Italy on Nov 23.

Coach Scott Robertson added: “We were not good enough tonight. We certainly created (chances) but we did not finish (strongly) enough. That’s the tough part. We played some good footy. The game changed just before and after half-time. We didn’t put enough scoreboard pressure and they stayed in it.” REUTERS, AFP