The bankruptcy of the French XV, Teddy Riner’s record, the rise of PSG… The sports recap of the weekend

Ups and downs for French sport during a weekend which was notably marked by Teddy Riner’s 8th title at the Paris Tournament, but also by the defeat of the Blues at the opening of the Six Nations Tournament.

The ghost train of the XV of France, Saturday February 3, preceded Teddy Riner’s rollercoaster on Sunday. In the amusement park of sport, we experienced all the emotions. Ivory Coast and South Africa thus won the CAN quarter-finals while, in the merry-go-round of Ligue 1, PSG is not about to let go of Mickey’s tail.

Rugby: for the French XV, the harder the relapse

We left the Blues heroic, but beaten by a breath more than three months ago in the quarter-final of their World Cup. We found them beaten again, but this time apathetic for their entry into the Six Nations Tournament against Ireland in Marseille (17-38). Bloodless, Fabien Galthié’s team only put up superficial resistance to the XV du Trèfle, visibly better recovered from its elimination from the World Cup, also in the quarter-finals. The Irish ballad was not a sweet melody for the Tricolores, for whom the absence of Antoine Dupont was felt intensely.

But this was scheduled. The abandonment of Paul Willemse’s post at the half-hour mark was not planned, and it weighed heavily in the balance. The Blues now have a week to heal their wounds and think about their strategy. It will be against Scotland, at Murrayfield (Saturday February 10, 3:15 p.m.). The latter played schizophrenic against Wales. First imperial, then feverish as possible, to finally win by one point at the end of a crazy match (26-27). A little earlier, England had confirmed that they were in tough territory by beating a promising Italy, but still unrealistic when it came time to tip the scales to their side (24-27).

Judo: Teddy Riner, sacred monster

Teddy Riner is right at home in Paris. And that’s good, with the Olympics coming up in six months. The Frenchman sent the message that he would be the captain at home by putting, for the 8th time, his giant mark on the Paris Tournament. Nine months after his 11th world championship title in Qatar, Riner, 34, proved he was not rusty. Even though he had a big scare in the semi-finals, he made it to the final fight where he won the golden score facing South Korean Kim Min-jong.

A little earlier in the day, Romane Dicko, 24, had shown the golden path to her prestigious elder by winning the final of the under 78 kg with an ippon inflicted on the Turkish Kayra Ozdemir after 39 seconds. The Olympic champion signs a second success in the capital. Still far from Teddy Riner’s eight coronations. The French clan ends this Paris Tournament with 12 medals, including 6 titles, obtained by Clarisse Agbegnenou, Shirine Boukli, Luka Mkheidze and Faïza Mokdar, in addition to the two heavyweights.

Ligue 1: PSG prances, Lyon takes off again

Eight is also the number of points between Paris Saint-Germain, at the top of Ligue 1, and their runner-up Nice. The first named, without shining, won Friday evening in Strasbourg at the opening of the 20th day (2-1), while the second confirmed its solidity by bringing back a draw from Brest (0-0). From an accounting point of view, the operation is flawless for PSG but, ten days before the round of 16 meeting against Real Sociedad in the Champions League, confidence still seems shaky.

Finally, in the match between injured beasts, Sunday evening, it was OL who got back up. A goal from Alexandre Lacazette was enough to give some breathing space to the Lyonnais, who are leaving the red zone. OM remains in a state of turbulence after this new setback.

CAN: Ivory Coast and South Africa through a mouse hole

The Elephants and Bafana Bafana are almost miraculous. The former are in the process of discovering a new guide in the person of Emerse Faé, propelled to the head of the team after the departure of Jean-Louis Gasset and a very worrying first round. Under his orders, the Ivorians have rediscovered a faith that nothing seems able to shake. Reduced to ten men for 75 minutes and led by Mali in the quarter-final, they equalized in the 90th minute before snatching their qualification in the final seconds of extra time (2-1). They will find the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last four, winner of Guinea on Friday (3-1).

South Africa, for its part, was able to count on a levitating goalkeeper to defeat Cape Verde on penalties (0-0, 2-1 tab). During the test, Ronwen Williams, touched by grace, released four of the Cape Verdeans’ five attempts. In the semi-final, his team will meet Nigeria.

Swimming: Marc-Antoine Olivier vice-world champion in the 10 km

In a very dense race, the Frenchman Marc-Antoine Olivier won a silver medal by a hair behind the Hungarian Kristof Rasovszky. After bronze in 2017 and silver in 2019, this is the third time that the French swimmer has reached the 10 km podium. The other French entry, Logan Fontaine, failed in fourth place after a sprint between eight swimmers for the bronze medal. Thanks to this performance, the two men qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.