Not a favorite against the English ogre, the XV of France wanted “give it all and have no regrets”. The words of Annick Hayraud, the manager of Les Bleues, have been heard, at least in part. Despite a great start, the XV of France ended up cracking and losing (12-24) in a match synonymous with the final of the Six Nations Tournament – the two teams sharing the lead before the meeting. By winning the victory on Saturday April 30, the Red Roses, who dominate the world rankings, won the Grand Slam and a fourth consecutive tournament. Enough to send a big message to the competition before the World Cup next October.
The Tricolores, valiant, ended up on their knees after having worked phase after phase of the game. It is difficult to imagine, however, that they will not have any regrets in view of the few missed opportunities and the unwelcome blunders that have prevented from raising doubts about the English, whom we have known to be more serene.
Hot, staff and players probably come out of this victory with a lot of regrets. But they will also see, perhaps, a range of encouraging signals. Les Bleues did not finish so far, despite the unusual loss of executives who had previously carried this team. Passes in the socks, kicking game not always well felt, the Sansus-Drouin hinge has not been as clean as since the start of the Tournament. The pressure put by the English defense is certainly not foreign to it.
Despite two furious tries from Romane Ménager (4th, 7-0) and Anaïs Deshayes (67th, 12-24 final score), the Bleues missed several opportunities to increase the score: balls in touch lost near the en- goal, unsuccessful breakthroughs from Boulard (60th) and Fall (69th), among others. In response, the English missed almost nothing and reassured themselves in their favorite exercise: the carried ball.
It only took them three penalties within five meters to get their heads back in a quarter of an hour. Three balls captured, a maul and the small troop tight with the ball warm sent Davies, Ward and Bern in turn to break (12th, 17th, 27th, 7-21). The experience of more fair English in the scoring areas ended up stifling the hopes of Bleues, who remain on a series of ten defeats in the Crunch.