Martin Lange / Photo credits: NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
Still no match for the French XV this weekend, but Fabien Galthié’s men should watch the clash between New Zealand and Italy carefully this Friday evening. Kick-off at 9 p.m. with a duel whose outcome could qualify the France team for the quarter-finals.
It’s simple: if the All Blacks don’t beat Italy this evening, the Blues will officially qualify for the quarter-finals. A dream scenario which would allow us to calmly prepare for the clash against South Africa. The only problem is that in 15 confrontations, the Italians have never beaten the New Zealanders. Worse, the average gap between the two teams is 48 points.
A determined Italian team
However, transalpine flyhalf Thomaso Allan believes in it. “I’ve played them three times. This is the fourth. When you come to the World Cup, you come to play against the best teams. There’s pressure, that’s for sure, but we take them like a new match . We have experience now,” emphasizes the player.
Because for the first time in history, the Blacks lost a group match, it was against the Blues in the opening match. Conversely, the Italians remain flawless with two demonstrations against Namibia and Uruguay. The march will be significantly higher this Friday evening at Groupama Stadium in Lyon even if officially the transalpines remain with a good result in the World Cup against the Blacks.
Four years ago, in Japan, the match did not take place due to Typhoon. As for France, it will face Italy next Saturday, October 6, to be followed live on Europe 1 radio, partner of the Rugby World Cup.