“small details”, a lack of “control”… How the Blues fell against the English

The players of the XV of France were overwhelmed by the solidity and efficiency of the Red Roses in the last match of the Tournament, Saturday.

The highly anticipated summit clash was a little unbalanced. The final of the Six Nations Tournament between the XV of France and the XV of the Rose quickly came to an end, Saturday April 27, in Bordeaux. Largely beaten by the future champions (42-21), the Blues never seemed able to win the match and fight for a title which has eluded them since 2018.

On the lawn of the Chaban-Delmas stadium, the French were pushed to their limits. In 80 minutes, they conceded six tries, one more than in their first five meetings in the Tournament. They also conceded their biggest defeat in three and a half years, against these same English women, in the fall of 2020. “Of course there is disappointment, we still take 40 pawns at home”reacted the third tricolor line Charlotte Escudero after the meeting.

“Little details” that make the difference

“We had what we needed and we weren’t able to fully put it in place. We knew it was going to be tough today and that it was going to come down to details, and that’s what happened”reacted hotly, with reddened eyes, the French captain Manae Feleu at the microphone of France 2. A little later, at a press conference, the Grenoble player again mentioned these “little details” on which the Blues “were not up to par”.

The French XV notably missed narrowly, facing a team against which every opportunity must be exploited to the maximum. In the first period, they particularly had difficulty confirming their strong points. Their two first attempts scored were quickly followed by a new English achievement. “It comes down to details, a little forward, a little mistake that’s a little stupid due to lack of lucidity, and it’s lots of little things like that, put end to end, that cause us to take blows behind the scenes. head, and the score becomes important”analyzed Charlotte Escudero in the mixed zone.

“The high level requires a lot of control, especially in your camp, and today we lacked it in these important moments”confirmed co-selector David Ortiz at a press conference. “If we gain control at key moments of this match, the appearance is no longer the same”he also assured.

Because where the Blues failed to be opportunistic, they suffered in the face of the efficiency of their opponents. “The English play very well, they punish us for every little mistake”explained Pauline Bourdon Sansus. “This is what still marks the difference between them and us. In the second half, when we dominate, we have difficulty punishing them. And they are very clinical, as soon as they come in [dans les 22]they crush us”, she then detailed. It’s up to them to erase these “little details” well identified to achieve this long-awaited victory in a year, in the last Tournament before the World Cup.