They thought they would go from the peaks of Aoraki-Mount Cook (3,724 meters) to the more modest Cerro Catedral (514 meters). But six days after reaching the summits against New Zealand, for the opening match of the World Cup, the XV of France painfully climbed the Uruguayan mid-mountains on Thursday September 14. In a crowded Pierre-Mauroy stadium, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (North), the teammates of Anthony Jelonch, returning from a long injury and captain for one evening, were slow to take stock of the 17e world nation (27-12). If they have a second success in a row in “their” World Cup, the Blues lacked control against the valiant Uruguayans. By scoring “only” three tries, the French failed to win the offensive bonus point offered by a fourth.
“The most important thing was the victory”observed coach Fabien Galthié after the meeting, mentioning the “frustration” among its players. “We are not here to demonstrate or produce a clean copy, but to win. » Never in control, often to a fault, but victorious all the same, the Blues untangled themselves from “Uruguayan trap”, as third row Sekou Macalou said, at the end of a choppy game – 15 penalties conceded for France, 16 for Uruguay. A little surprise, for four years, this team has gotten used to being efficient.
With twelve changes in the starting XV, the French staff had largely reshuffled their formation for this second match of the competition. And constituted a composite French XV lacking benchmarks, made up of the usual “finishers” (replacements), returners and young shoots. ” A lot [des Uruguayens] are playing [ensemble] in Penarol. So, they have collective experience, more than us ultimately”, observed hooker Pierre Bourgarit, the day before the match. And certain lacks of automation seemed glaring.
“Not a successful match”
In view of the lackluster game offered by the XV of France, it cannot be said that the players lined up for the occasion scored points in the battle for the folding seats of the important matches – with the possible exception of third row Sekou Macalou. “When you reshuffle the team, everyone wants to show themselves and, sometimes, we forget the teamrecognized the pillar Sipili Falatea. There was too much energy, too much desire, and a lack of lucidity. At certain times, we wanted to overplay alone. » Which doesn’t help, even against a supposedly weaker team, even though everyone insisted before the match to “don’t look down on Uruguay”.
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