Call it what you want. A tube, a cartridge, a big tackle or so… a “coup de Fall”. From the name of its creator. From the first seconds of the opening match of the Six Nations Tournament against Italy (39-6), Sunday March 27, Madoussou Fall (24) set the tone for what was to be his match: tackles at feat, combat and delirious hyperactivity for a great match.
Already this fall, the second line had amazed his world. Within a rejuvenated XV of France, the one who evolves under the colors of Stade Bordelais had seized her chance against the best nations in the world, making a first demonstration of her wide range: impassable defender, attacker breaks through the wall and available in the running game.
In the absence of Safi N’Diaye or Céline Ferer, both injured, Fall was logically propelled against Italy, for his eleventh cap. So there was this first tackle, as violent as it was correct, then fourteen others followed, throughout the game. Like her teammates, the No. 4 proved impassable in defense. At the very forefront of the fight.
But it would be very simplistic to sum up her match to her tackles… Indeed, besides this point, it is also in the current game that the native of the Paris region has distinguished herself. The 86 meter and the power of the second line allowed the Blues, dressed in white, to advance. A necessary anchor point to mark the transalpine defense, generally embodied by Safi N’Diaye and perfectly supplemented today by Madoussou Fall.
FIRST VICTORY for our Bleues in this @Womens6Nations 2022! A beautiful afternoon in Grenoble, with the bonus in hand! #FRAITA #XVdeFrance #Don’tDoXV pic.twitter.com/zmrHLodtWd
– France Rugby (@FranceRugby) March 27, 2022
In the seventeenth minute, it was she who scored the first try of the match, while the XV of France had had difficulty getting back into their game after long months without playing together. On a tricolor touch near the 22-meter transalpine line, the ball recovered at the bottom of the alignment by Clara Joyeux had allowed the Blues to chain the playing times in the transalpine camp.
Finally, after several cleanings in the rucks, a last big shoulder propelled Fall into the in-goal, well served by his second line friend, Audrey Forlani (10-3, 17th).
A few minutes later, the marker went into defender mode by stealing Italian ammunition on a dangerous touch. A handful of minutes will therefore have been enough to identify the player trained in Bobigny. And understand the rest of his game. At the end of the meeting, Madoussou Fall was logically elected woman of the match. “I am happy to have been elected woman of the match (…) but today all my teammates could have been designated”, modestly commented on the main interested party at the microphone of France 2 at the end of the game.
While Safi N’Diaye and Céline Ferer could return to the tricolor group for the next matches of the Tournament, Madoussou Fall will cause a lot of headaches for his staff. After the Italians, it is Annick Hayraud and her staff who will have to deal with the Fall case.