Like what we can be rugby players and tightrope walkers. Winner by a hair after a stunning end to the match against Australia (30-29), the XV of France again won on the wire, Saturday, November 12, in Marseille. Fallout of the South African world champions (30-26) at the end of the suspense, the Blues won a twelfth victory in a row, current record.
For that, it took self-sacrifice and a lot of courage from Fabien Galthié’s men, who resisted the South African impact in a tough match, marked by five players sent in concussion protocol and a red card on both sides. else. In numerical superiority during the first act, the French saw their captain Antoine Dupont expelled at the start of the second, before finishing the match at 14 against 13 after the yellow card of Fourie.
In Marseille, the XV of France often wins. But in the middle of the second half, we thought that the South Africans were going to honor their status as world champions, they who also had 14 players crowned in 2019 on the lawn of the Vélodrome. After the hour of play, the Springboks led 25-22, having reversed the scenario of the meeting. Suffering since returning from the locker room, harassed by the South African forward line, the XV of France was on the verge of capsizing on the Old Port.
But as often on the Canebière, the mistral turned, giving wings to the Blues in the last quarter of an hour. On a good sequence, the French pushed the third line Deon Fourie to the fault, forcing the referee to show a yellow card. Again in numerical superiority, the Blues then resumed colors, and besieged the in-goal. After five minutes of combat, Falatea slipped between the lines to flatten, and restore the advantage to the Blues. Thomas Ramos then passed a final penalty to put the XV of France on the road to a twelfth consecutive victory.
| IT IS DONE ! This team refuses to lose
the #XVdeFrance chained a 12th consecutive victory by beating the world championsFollow the live: https://t.co/YEVNy2R71Q pic.twitter.com/XYjFghECGL
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) November 12, 2022
If South Africa had for a time taken the advantage, the Blues had entered their match well by inflicting a scathing 10-0 on their opponents. After 21 minutes, they even led 13-0 thanks to two penalties from Ramos, and a converted try from Baille. The expulsion of Du Toit from the twelfth minute, for clearing the head, facilitated the task of the French. But the world champions then woke up, like a Cheslin Kolbe designated scorer by default, who reduced the gap (13-3, 26th).
The Springboks even found the resources to come back to 13-10, with a hard try from Kolisi (29th), despite their numerical inferiority. Led 16-10 at the break but reinvigorated, the South Africans returned to the lawn with a knife between their teeth, well helped by the expulsion of Antoine Dupont as soon as the restart, for a charge on Cheslin Kolbe, landed on the head and released on concussion protocol, like four other players this Saturday (including 3 French). A proof of the intensity of this committed meeting, which finally turned in favor of the XV of France. Next meeting: Saturday November 19 against Japan.