Not much to add about that game, last night. It was really nice to see NZ play their beautiful rugby again. Some really nice plays, but with very little opposition, which made the game not that exciting, in my very humble opinion. The difference in fitness level between the two teams was abysmal… A complete opposite with the France-Uruguay game which, somehow, was very balanced. The Uruguayen players seemed extraordinarily fit. As a French supporter, I can only hope they will keep that level for their next couple group games. I read a bunch of silly things in the English media, after that game… Am I surprised ? Not really, I’m afraid. Here’s my personal take on it: 1/ It was Uruguay first game and they took everyone by surprise (just look at the odds before the game…). I’d venture to say that Galthié may have been the less surprised of us all. 2/ He knowingly took a risk to line up a team of subs with the sole purpose of giving them some serious game time and sparing the main players. 3/ Doing so, he put his « sub » team in a very difficult position where they had to play a hellish scenario for 80 minutes, both mentally and physically, and gave up on the bonus point and goal average. I am pretty sure he knew that was a possibility from the beginning. 4/ Reading some press reviews and associated comments here and there you’d think France lost that game… No. They won by 15 points (which was very likely the only contract they were given), never underestimated Los Teros, and got seriously battle hardened in the process, without any injury. It’s a perfect scenario in a tournament of that magnitude. 5/ Galthié always seems to be looking two plays ahead of everyone else. He is a natural risk taker with a vision, that’s probably why he was such a great scrum half and captain when he was on the field 20 years ago, he is utterly respected by his players and by all the supporters. Something not many coaches get, these days, unfortunately. Which I think is an absolute shame… What’s next? Well if everything continues as planned, les Bleus will come out of their group having won all their games, lining up their « A » team against Italy, a team they know very well, and stopped underestimating a long time ago. But most importantly, they will be as ready as possible to face other major challengers in the second half of the tournament. Very exciting times ahead!!! PS: the yellow/red card thing? Yep, Taofifénua was very lucky on this one…
Ignore those ridiculous English Media comments Guillaume.The result was never in doubt and the French team never appeared stressed in my eyes.Yes they missed out on the bonus point but it’s not the end of the world.
Well, reading their post game interviews, it seems that they were actually pretty stressed (upset) by the whole situation. Jelonch, first game in 6 months, first time captain, was pretty clear about this. They were almost never able to play their game plan… They did not enjoy this game at all.
You’ve got to love latins and their nut huggers! What we’ve got here, is the Chilean squad getting out of their morning swim in Perros-Guirec, Brittany. On a US Beach, they would all get framed for sexual assault… The article is actually pretty cool as, apparently, they get along really well with the local people there.
Australia seem too young to perform this time round. And Fiji can now play 60 minutes of controled and disciplined rugby. Perfect scenario for this first 2023 RWC « upset ». I guess some of you lot must be bracing up for the next game…
Sloppy at times but got the job done. Definitely need to play better or will get battered when facing a real tier 1 team.
Well what can you say about the performance from England, yes they've two from two now but for me the script they've been given by the bosses is just about get over the line plan and that's it. In my mind there was only ten minutes from the eighty that was worth talking about the rest was just embarrassing.
With a lackluster performance in the first half from the Italians they reset for the next forty and bagged a win, Uruguay on the other hand could've made history tonight with that 17/7 avantage at half time, but with poor kicking and direction control they didn't capitalised.
They looked totally exhausted too, unlike when they played France. Seemed like they hadn’t recovered from that game. Playing NZ as their last pool game is going to be very, very rough… Especially if they go all in against Namibia before that.
Flat footed, lacklustre, pedestrian, unimaginative, which is becoming the norm under the current management. Andy
I don't understand what the problem's, just pick a style / format that suits our great players and fine-tune it, it's that simple.!
