Royal blue and heating blue. The French mixed the genres against Ireland, Saturday, February 12, and it was necessary to uproot the XV of Clover, always so tough. Everything was not perfect, it rarely is against a team expert in the art of outmaneuvering, but Fabien Galthié’s men delivered a very consistent performance.
WE LIKED
An introduction like in a dream. The first minute of the game of the Blues is to be printed in all the manuals. It’s very simple, everything is executed to perfection. From Moefana’s first hooks, to Atonio’s charge to Ntamack’s magic pass for Dupont, everything exudes class, power, mastery. A miraculous multiplication of playing time, like others multiplied breads.
The entire Stade de France knew how Ireland was going to play. We can always count on Irish loyalty, which, indeed, sent its green men to putty. Without surprise. The XV of clover therefore multiplied the charges flush but the French managed to pull the rug out from under their feet.
Perfectly structured, the blue forwards demonstrated real mastery in scratching the balls or, at least, slowing them down. Deprived of their number one weapon, Ireland no longer had an immediate plan B. It was only after returning from the locker room that the XV du Clover decided, rightly, to deploy its game outwards.
There is obviously this test which breathes new life into the XV of France when it was starting to suffocate, after a delicate start to the second period. A test combining all the strength of the pillar but also the balance of a three-quarter that manages to get off axis while remaining on its supports to flatten. The icing on a multi-layered cake, consisting in particular of 31 meters covered with the ball in hand and 6 devastating tackles (for only one missed).
At one point, we could believe the confit Irish. It would be bad to know them. Even if it means adding a stone to the edifice of the “fighting spirit” cliché, they have rebelled again. True to their legend. In the wake of their three-quarter center Garry Ringrose, decidedly not far from a Brian O’Driscoll, the men of Clover raised their heads and the bar to fight a fierce fight against the Blues, pushing them to their limits.
Led 22-7, the Irish will thus return to a very small point, raising fears for the worst for the XV of France. The latter can thank his brave adversaries: it is also and above all in the opposition that we progress.
WE DIDN’T LIKE
After the divine symphony at the start of the match, 10-0 after 6 minutes, a first quack was heard. The whole orchestra is not at fault, of course, but some soloists missed out on the dismissal following a penalty from Jaminet. Bad communication between the backs, each looking at the other and Hansen who was passing by took the opportunity to run for the test. A guilty hesitation happens, but it is to be reproduced as little as possible. Especially in the face of monsters of opportunism like the Irish.
As in a quote from a famous movie of the 80s, the French “had left the feeling in the locker room”. Perhaps too sure of their strength and their lead, the Blues watched helplessly as the green furia awoke and conceded a 14-0 in the space of two minutes from the start. A permissiveness which allowed the Irish, who until then had their heads in the bucket, to come back neck and neck.
