Where are the Blues really? This is the question that we can ask ourselves at the end of a group stage where the XV of France, sometimes overtaken by its old demons, sometimes carried by a collective force, won its place for the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Saturday October 22, after his victory against Fiji (44-0). If entwined jumps and festive songs accompanied this victory, synonymous with qualification, the reactions nevertheless remained measured. “We will have to erase these small hand mistakes for the future, settle these details which will perhaps cost us dearly in the end”wanted for example to support the opener Jessy Trémoulière at the end of the meeting.
Yes, we will of course have his captain Gaëlle Hermet rent “state of mind” irreproachable part of the group, and its coach Thomas Darracq salute “the risks” taken by its players in the offensive phase Nevertheless, neither this big victory against the Fijians, nor that obtained in the opening against South Africa, have thrilled the post-match analyzes and caused smiles as much as the narrow defeat against to England.
Why ? Because if the French women no longer proclaim their desire for the final crown as clearly as a few months ago, their objective is to settle alongside England at the top of the hierarchy of world rugby. And that in this perspective, dominating Sprinboks and the Fijians is a must. In the duel of contenders for the title, the group stage came as a reminder of the gap that persists between the two nations. If it seems to have reduced since the last Six Nations Tournament and this Grand Slam final lost by the Blues, the opposition has turned in favor of England … for the 11th consecutive time.
This gap is also measured outside of the direct duels between the two teams. Where England crushes its adversaries, “those little slags”, noted by Thomas Darracq, coach of the Blue, prevent the XV of France from doing the same against opponents well within their reach. And if these blunders remain of the order of the detail in the face of opposition such as South Africa (13th nation in the world) or even Fiji, which are competing in the first World Cup in their history, they are crippling when it comes to overthrow opponents such as the Red Roses, against whom “there are few opportunities” to exploit, words of Caroline Drouin.
We need to score a lot more tries. There are faults on the releases, on the scrums, touches that are poorly controlled at times when we are close to the lines. It’s a shame not to have been able to score even more because tonight the girls deserved it.
Thomas Darracq, coach of the Bluesafter the game against Fiji
This ability to achieve its highlights, underlined by the tricolor boss on Saturday, is the main sector in which England surpasses the Blues, and the one that makes it the world number 1. To realize this, just take a look at the copies delivered by France and England against the same Fijian opponent in this World Cup. Number of crossings (16 against 6), defenders beaten (45 against 23), tries scored (14 against 7) or even lost balls (9 against 14), the key figures are for the most part largely to the advantage of the Red Roses.
Against Fiji, the English had scored as many tries as the Blues in the 50th minute… Admittedly, with this 44-0, the Blues have surely delivered their most successful performance of the competition, but they are still far from the correction that had been inflicted on them by England in the opening (84-19).
However, the XV of France comes out of this group stage with signals as positive as they are promising. “It is not with 15 players, but with 30 that we win a World Cup“, asked Thomas Darracq a few months ago, to justify the large number of different players mobilized during the Six Nations Tournament. The staff remained faithful to their logic. By making nearly ten changes after the Crunch to face Fiji , the tricolor staff was able to breathe some players, while mobilizing a large group, without sacrificing the result.
Better still, the unprecedented Bourdon-Trémoulière hinge and the shift of the usual opener, Caroline Drouin in the center, offered decisive strategic options in the management of the match, weak times and in the tries scored. Pauline Bourdon, replacing Laure Sansus, was also named player of the match.
Moreover, despite the defeat, the lessons learned during the defeat against England will be valuable for the future. During the Tournament, a few months earlier, the Blues had been unable to respond to the physical challenge of the English forwards. Almost every ball carried, fatal weapon of the XV de la Rose, had pierced the blue defensive wall. This time, the fight was quite different. Les Bleues delivered a major performance in defense, enough to cast doubt on an England that we have rarely seen dropping so many balls as they approach the scoring areas.
The Blues who said to themselves “proud” and “found” after this meeting have garnered a good dose of confidence, which could make the difference in the event of a reunion in the semi-finals or the final. But it will first pass the stage of the quarters. The opponent of Les Bleues will be known on Sunday morning.