Beaten by Fiji in the afternoon, for their last group match (12-19), Jérôme Daret’s players beat Argentina (21-14) in the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament, Thursday July 25, on the pitch of the Stade de France. Saturday, the French will face South Africa for a place in the final.
An almost perfect first half. Dominant from start to finish in the first half, the Blues scored three tries to make it 21-0. After Andy Timo opened the scoring early in the game, it was Aaron Grandidier who scored twice.
A more difficult second period. After half-time, the Blues had to face a comeback from Argentina. Taking advantage of the numerical inferiority of the French team after a yellow card in the middle of the second period, the Pumas came back to 21-14. Coming on during the match, Antoine Dupont came to score a try in the last seconds of the match, synonymous with qualification for the semi-final.
A tough opponent in the semi-final. To reach the final of the Olympic tournament for the first time, the French team will have to beat South Africa on Saturday at the Stade de France. In the quarter-finals, the South Africans beat New Zealand, silver medallist at the Tokyo Games, by a score of 14-7.