Silky skills, crushing power, and a thrilling scoreline that captivated a sold-out Saturday-night crowd: this was a classic encounter that went down to the wire. Scrum-half Antoine Dupont may have appeared slightly off his game in his second outing for France since his sevens stint at the Paris Olympics, but Thomas Ramos, who kicked 15 points, remained as reliable as ever. Ardie Savea was a formidable force with his punishing carries for New Zealand, yet the speed of Louis Bielle-Biarrey proved decisive in the end.
Fabien Galthié’s team burst out of the gates like a high-speed train, and thanks to a clever tap-back by Gabin Villière on the French left, they were quickly advancing deep into the New Zealand 22 when prop Tevita Tatafu knocked on. Ramos, starting at fly-half alongside Dupont with debutant Romain Buros at full-back, soon punished New Zealand with a penalty from halfway to open the scoring. Tyrel Lomax had been penalized at a scrum, serving as an early warning that the precise kicker would mercilessly exploit any indiscipline.
Back-rower Peter Lakai came off the bench early for his second cap due to an HIA for Samipeni Finau, who was injured while tackling Tatafu during that initial French foray into the visitors’ territory. When New Zealand launched a swift attack down their left wing, the indomitable Savea cut inside and powered through several feeble attempted tackles before offloading to the Hurricanes No 8, Lakai, who crashed over. Scott Barrett, the All Blacks head coach, had vowed to disrupt Dupont’s play, and the strategy paid off when Cam Roigard intercepted an attempted Grégory Alldritt offload intended for Dupont and sprinted over the try-line after a French defensive scrum. This was a sign of the visitors gaining control at the set-piece.
Some of the French tackling would likely have displeased Shaun Edwards, the defense coach, but Les Bleus’ attack was impeccable, and a slick, powerful finish by Buros five minutes after Roigard’s opportunistic try narrowed the gap on the scoreboard. Beauden Barrett kicked a penalty, and the half-time stats were not in France’s favor: they had missed 17 tackles while Scott Barrett’s side enjoyed 62% possession. The score was seven points at the break.
Galthié may have delivered a fiery halftime speech to his players because they were level within five minutes of the restart, with blindside flanker Paul Boudenhent scoring after a powerful driving maul. Ramos added the conversion. Then, when a New Zealand move faltered in midfield and Ramos executed a delightful grubber kick behind, Bielle-Biarrey’s blistering pace overwhelmed the defensive cover. He gathered the ball, dived over, and celebrated wildly; a seven-point deficit had turned into a seven-point lead within 11 second-half minutes. It was a masterstroke by Ramos, who knew Bielle-Biarrey’s speed would be exploited with a precise kick.
Damien McKenzie, another reliable kicker, came off the bench and reduced the All Blacks’ deficit to four before Ramos again extended the lead to seven points with another penalty. As Scott Barrett emptied his bench for the final act, another pair of McKenzie penalties meant there was just one point in it with 10 minutes left. The moment felt crucial when Ofa Tu’ungafasi was penalized by the TMO for a high hit, giving the flawless Ramos the chance to kick his sixth penalty – only for McKenzie to equalize once more. Another kick-through and another foot race – this time between Bielle-Biarrey and Savea – had the crowd on their feet, culminating in a French penalty, but they held the territory and secured a thrilling victory.
Source link: https://www.theguardian.com
