three things to know before the game of the Blue against the Black Ferns

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After the big victory against the Boks (46-3), despite some stammering in the game, the Blues will challenge New Zealand, Saturday, November 13 at 3 p.m. in Pau (live on France 2 and france.tv). If they have aligned no less than five neophytes on the sheet of the first match of this autumn tour, Annick Hayraud and his staff have made nine changes favoring the experience to tackle the second team in the world rankings.

The Black Ferns, almost undisputed queens of world rugby

Because if the English have robbed them of first place in the world ranking, it is the Black Ferns who dominate their sport. And this, even more than their male counterparts. Since the inception of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 1998, New Zealand women have crushed the competition by winning five of the six official editions (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017). A single misstep in the pool against Ireland (14-17) in 2014, cut their momentum.

The five-time world champions then had to be content with a fifth place, while the English women did not allow themselves to be prayed for to steal their throne. This year as in 2017, the Bleues of Gaëlle Mignot and Jessy Trémouliere had to be satisfied with a third place. Next September, New Zealand will host the World Cup for the first time. An opportunity that the Black Ferns do not want to miss to add a new title in their purse.

The Bleues finally uninhibited against the Black Ferns

But the Blues also set eyes greedy for gluttony on the Grail. Because things have changed a lot. The XV of France no longer wants to be satisfied with a third place at the Worlds where it has peaked for several years (2002, 2006, 2014, 2017). “The goal is the title, that’s the dream, and we are building a team for this goal”, confided bluntly the sports manager of the Blue, Thomas Darracq before the start of the autumn tour.

Above all, the Blue now know that they can overthrow the Black Ferns. After four defeats in as many official matches (109-0 in 1996, 30-0 in 2002, 40-10 in 2006 and 45-7 in 2010), Annick Hayraud’s players broke down a hell of a mental barrier in 2018. Confidence, pumped up by a Grand Slam at the start of the season, the Bleues beat a few months later for the first time in their history the New Zealand women (30-27) in Grenoble in an anthology match.

It’s hard to describe it, after the win (against the Black Ferns in November 2018) there was a big relief. The whole end of the match is under tension, we don’t want to lose. For all the people who have played rugby, it is the dream, and we had just made it happen.

Cyrielle Banet, wing of the XV of France

in the show Tout le Sport

A tricky double confrontation

This quest for the world title goes through an autumn tour where the Blue “hope to make an impression”, that of the New Zealand women, but also that of the English women that they will find at the Six Nations. What better for “fuel the psychological fight” imposed by the great nations, described by Thomas Darracq, than to overthrow the Black Ferns? Not much. The opportunity is all the more beautiful, as their opponents, deprived of a test match for nearly two years because of the Covid-19, come out of two spankings against the English. For their comeback, the Blacks Ferns conceded the biggest defeats in their history against England (43-12), then (56-15).

The stake is therefore much greater than it seems for the Blue, who in turn face the Black Ferns twice. Fucking the wounded beast, probably still lacking landmarks and rhythm, can only lay a good foundation for the future. Falling against revengeful New Zealanders, despite the return of the French executives, could on the contrary put lead in the wings of the French dynamic. If the blunders (forwards, hazardous passes) observed against the Boks did not have an impact on the final result, to avoid such a disappointment, the Blue should be careful not to offer such gifts to their opponents of the day.


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