At the Velodrome Stadium
FAVORITES
The revolt of the Blues
“
This team refuses to lose.
», Underlined, with insistence, Fabien Galthié, after the victory.
At the start of the second half, however, there were reasons to flinch.
To despair.
Red card for captain Antoine Dupont (48th).
Arendse will-o'-the-wisp test to allow the South Africans to finally lead to the score (19-20, 51st).
Scorers in green and in verve who follow one another and enquiller without batting an eyelid (3/3 for Kolbe, 2/2 for de Klerk, 1/1 for Willemse).
The blue boat then pitched seriously, the world champions making it their duty to resort to the ordeal known as carrying the ball.
For a quarter of an hour, defeat looms seriously.
And then the burst of pride, the revolt.
The French forwards regain the upper hand in the fight, the three-quarters hit and hit the wall again.
And end up chipping it.
A try (74th),
then a penalty (78th) to win the decision.
"
Every time we lose it hurts.
But this time even more
, ”grinted the Springboks coach, Jacques Nienaber, as victory seemed to him within reach.
The contribution of French replacements
Injuries, concussions, Dupont's red card forced the French staff to coach in a hurry.
Sekou Macalou thus entered the game from the 11th minute.
The pillars Sipili Falatea and Reda Wardi (who honored his first selection) returned, left, returned.
And Maxime Lucu, who only plays the last minutes (or even does not come into play, like last week against Australia) took over from Dupont in the 53rd minute.
And all of them were decisive.
Macalou, in a new and hybrid role, of winger in the current game and third-line in the conquest phases, burst the screen.
Falatea scored the decisive try and Wardi destroyed the winning scrum.
Among other things, both forwards threw all their forces into battle.
As for Lucu, he knew how to keep a cool head,
restore order in a French game then on the verge of panic.
Four essential linings.
Who have deserved a little more their qualifier of finishers, terminology to which Fabien Galthié is very attached.
Is right.
Siya Kolisi, maximo leader
At the heart of the brutal tussle with the Blues, Siya Kolisi delivered a titanic performance.
The captain of the Boks, who scored a trickster try after a ball carried near the tricolor in-goal (30th), was present at the four corners of the field.
Constantly present in the fight, at the relay in attack, the flanker of the world champions has, once again, been the spearhead of the South African machine.
Leader by example, the child of a township near Port Elizabeth is essential among the Springboks.
And he proved it again on the lawn of the Stade Vélodrome, where his activity was impressive.
Despite the defeat, he wanted to pay tribute to the Blues: “
I admire the France team.
She goes for it when she sees an opportunity.
It's a very complete team.
French fans can be proud of their France team.
» The class.
The very high class.
Read alsoRugby: “French supporters can be proud of their team”, assures Kolisi, the captain of the Springboks
The Velodrome, this magic cauldron
The history of the XV of France at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille is full of epic matches, played in a magnificent atmosphere.
This one against the Springboks will also go down in history.
In a sold-out Marseille enclosure, the XV of France fought an epic battle.
And it was worn by a fiery audience.
Multiplying the songs, the Marseillaises, to push the band to Fabien Galthié.
After the match, the players in unison underlined the contribution of their 16th man.
“The supporters, it will be incredible during the World Cup,
confirms the center Gaël Fickou.
It will be one of the best World Cups in history.
It's up to us to keep winning."
Same enthusiasm from the South Africans who praised the atmosphere in Marseille, they who will return to the Vélodrome twice during the 2023 World Cup. Everyone agrees, the Vélodrome is unanimous.
CLAW STRIKES
Dupont-Ntamack in minor mode
Against Australia, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack missed their match.
And against South Africa, the 100% Toulouse hinge was still struggling.
The pair of halfbacks did not, during its two outings, regain the efficiency and composure that were its trademark.
Antoine Dupont, disappointing against the Wallabies, suffered again against the Boks, like his involuntary but logical expulsion.
At his side, Ntamack - who returned to competition on the occasion of the first test of this autumn tour - was once again more than discreet.
Far from his best.
His kicking game was rough and he hardly boosted the small flame in attack.
Some will say that this did not prevent the XV of France from winning twice this fall.
At a minimum.
Read alsoXV of France: "I felt a lot of guilt", admits Antoine Dupont after his red card
Too heavy a price
The fierce fight, intense and brutal, has done damage.
And the Blues have paid too heavy a price.
Victim of a clearing from another time in the face, Jonathan Danty left his partners in the 11th minute, fractured orbital floor, preventing him from coming back into play despite a concussion protocol successfully passed.
The official doctor of the meeting had to perfectly master the examination at the end of the match as he was solicited.
Uini Atonio and Bongi Mbonambi, Thibaud Flament and Cheslin Kolbe also passed the protocol.
With success for the first two named.
Failure for the other two, forbidden to return to the battlefield.
Add the relapse of Cyril Baille, victim of an inguinal hernia, and the list of victims is long.
The price to pay for confrontational rugby,
where collision is preferred to confrontation.
Scary.