Paradoxically, it took an overheated atmosphere to extinguish the start of the fire which threatened the blue house. After three lackluster outings and notably a poor draw conceded at home against Italy, the French raised their heads on Sunday March 10, defeating Wales in their setting at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, during the fourth day of the Six Nations Tournament (45-24). Despite the closed roof of an enclosure filled with 71,000 noisy fans, the XV of France was able to count on a breath of fresh air to win, symbolized by the first selections of four players.
When Fabien Galthié’s men arrive in Australia in 2027 to compete in the next World Cup, perhaps they will remember this afternoon in the land of the Welsh Dragons. The one during which they regained their offensive spirit at the same time as they discovered some “blues” led to sign a long lease with the jersey struck by the rooster. “We must congratulate the young people. There are a lot of opportunities in this Tournament for them, and they bring their talent to us.”agreed the coach, who had decided to carry out a vast squad review before the match with eight changes.
The first minutes of the match were, however, in line with previous meetings. Enterprising but hesitant like their new full-back Léo Barré, the French conceded a penalty from the start by fly-half Sam Costelow, quickly followed by a try from Rio Dyer (10e). But what could seem like a sad logical continuation of the last French matches, in fact marked the start of an offensive festival.
Although beaten three times in as many matches, the Welsh did not stop there, scoring two more tries. But the French have always been able to respond, first through Gaël Fickou at the conclusion of a major action (22e), then with a try under the posts of Nolann Le Garrec (29e).
The new ones all showed up
For his first start, the Racing 92 scrum half achieved the feat of (almost) forgetting the absence of Antoine Dupont, and was crowned man of the match. “ I am very happy with the collective performance, and also a little with my own. There was apprehension, no athlete would say otherwise”savored the Ile-de-France player at the final whistle.
In his wake and that of Thomas Ramos – replaced as fly-half following the injury to Matthieu Jalibert – the Blues continued the attacks. And they relied on the power of two other “newbies”, the Bordeaux-Béglais center Nicolas Depoortère and the Toulouse second row Emmanuel Meafou.
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