Particularly crossed destinies this weekend for the French teams. If, in table tennis, the Blues won silver at the world championships, those of the Ovalie struggled terribly against Italy in the Six Nations Tournament.
Published
Update
Reading time: 5 min
Connecting vases this weekend. At a time when the French table tennis team is rising from its ashes, the rugby union team, held in check by Italy in Lille, seems apathetic without its captain Antoine Dupont, who played his first matches with the Blues rugby sevens. At the end of the day, Sunday February 25, Clément Nöel concluded on a positive note by taking 2nd place in the slalom of Palisades Tahoe in the United States.
Table tennis: the Blues vice-world champions, 27 years later
It’s a silver medal that tastes like gold. Twenty-seven years after the epic of Jean-Philippe Gatien’s Blues, the French team once again became vice-world champion in table tennis team, Sunday February 25, in Busan in South Korea. Beaten by the intractable Chinese in the final, Simon Gauzy, Félix Lebrun and Alexis Lebrun thus equaled the Blues of 1948 and 1997, already in silver, while France has never tasted gold in this discipline.
Faced with China, crowned for the eleventh time in a row, the French could do nothing. Alexis Lebrun for a time maintained the hope of an unprecedented coronation, even having a match point against world number 1 Fan Zhendong to equalize at 1-1, without success. Previously, his little brother Félix Lebrun, sixth player in the world, was swept away by Wang Chuqin (number 2). In the third rotation, Simon Gauzy was unable to do anything against the legend Ma Long (3rd in the world). Dismissed 3 to 0, the Blues nevertheless offered themselves a historic silver medal full of promise, five months before the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Six nations: the XV of France loses the North
On the lawn of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascq, the French XV completely missed out on their match against Italy on Sunday February 25. Despite their copious domination in the first act, Fabien Galthié’s men never took off against modest Italy. However, after the red card received by Jonathan Danty just before the break, the Blues spent the second half suffering. Clumsy with the ball in hand, and powerless against the solid Transalpine defense, the Tricolores ended up conceding an Italian try.
Worse: without a twist of fate, Italy would have won. But the decisive penalty kicked by Paolo Garbisi hit the post head-on, causing the Italian to miss the match point. A lesser evil for the Blues, even if this 13-13 draw smacks of defeat, like the words of Fabien Galthié after the match: “We will have to live together with the pain because it is a draw. We will come together, it is a difficult moment”. In the standings, the Blues are now fourth, far from Ireland who take the lead after their new victory against Wales. Scorers of England, the Scots are second.
Ligue 1: PSG at a minimum, Minamino does the maximum
Minimum service for the leader of Ligue 1. With Kylian Mbappé present on the pitch but absent from the debates, and moreover leaving after the hour mark, Paris Saint-Germain delivered a more than ordinary performance against the Stadium Rennes, Sunday (1-1). A late penalty, converted by Gonçalo Ramos, at least allowed Luis Enrique’s men to avoid defeat, which would have been a first in 19 matches in all competitions. But it will not make us forget the pallor of the Parisian performance, any more than the magnificent goal of Amine Gouiri, which ensures that the Bretons, seventh, remain in contact with the European places.
Unlike PSG, AS Monaco stripped down to win in Lens (2-3) and thus take a place on the 3rd step of the podium. The Monegasques, who led 2-0 before being caught by the fiery Lensois, were still able to snatch victory in the final moments thanks to a sublime strike from Minamino, who excelled throughout the match. Finally, to complete this 23rd day, Olympique de Marseille confirmed its recovery under the leadership of Jean-Louis Gasset. Against Montpellier, the Phocéens recorded a second victory in a row, and the first in L1 since December 17. A success which bears the vengeful mark ofIliman Ndiaye, scorer and omnipresent on the attacking front.
Skiing: Clément Noël, bonus for regularity
Third podium in a row for the French slalom skier, this time on the frozen banks of Lake Tahoe in the United States. It’s quite simple, when the Habs finish their races, they are often on the podium (4/6 this winter). It now remains for him to return to victory but, for that, he will have to get rid of the scarecrow Manuel Feller, already four successes in eight races this season. This time again, the Austrian disgusted the competition from the first round and is heading towards his first Globe in the specialty.
Rugby Sevens: successful first steps for Antoine Dupont
Five months before the Paris Olympic Games, which he intends to play with the French sevens rugby team, Antoine Dupont took part in his first matches in this discipline, during the tournament in Vancouver (Canada). The rugby union star alternated between starts and entries during the match, and notably distinguished himself with a victorious try at the very end of the match in the quarter-finals. The Blues, however, lost in the half against New Zealand (28-26) but won the bronze medal against the United States (42-12). On the women’s side, the Blues also came up against New Zealand, but it was in the final (35-19). They won a frustrating silver medal while still chasing their first gold medal on the circuit.