FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Facing Anton Lienert-Brown and the “All Blacks” of New Zealand, Antoine Dupont and the XV of France put up a magnificent fight at the Stade de France.
RUGBY – A gala poster and a titanic fight. A year after a World Cup at home which concluded in the quarter-finals, the French XV made the Stade de France roar with pleasure this Saturday, November 16 against New Zealand, playing a brilliant match of self-sacrifice in defense to finally win (30-29) with courage. This is the third consecutive victory for the Blues against the All Blacksnever seen before.
As is customary during these clashes, the evening began with the traditional haka. For the occasion, the war dance of All Blacks was magnified by the play of light from the Dyonisian enclosure which allowed the participants in the meeting to face each other in sublime chiaroscuro.
An appetizer widely applauded by the Stade de France… which then had to be patient. Because it was New Zealand who got off to the best start in the match, finding themselves ahead by the score (3-14) after half an hour of play.
But the teammates of Olympic champion Antoine Dupont never broke up. By fighting for each ball and repelling successive waves, like the last action before half-time, they even managed to return to the locker room in contact (10-17).
A scenario that gave them wings: in the second half, the French quickly scored two tries to find themselves in front at the hour mark (27-20).
But there were still 20 minutes to play, and accompanied by all the encouragement from its audience, the French team had to try to resist the armada of triple world champions. Of the All Blacks who then put in place a more pragmatic game, eating into their delay by scoring successive kicks. The rest offered a duel with a knife, the two teams going blow for blow, most of the time separated by a single point.
And if Louis Bielle-Biarrey came close, twice, to scoring the KO attempt two minutes before the siren, the French team had to fight to the end. Even beyond regulation time, in the last breathtaking moments. But like the immense fight they put up on the Saint-Denis pitch this Saturday, the Blues were able to resist to win by one point. Breathtaking.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
