The XV of France won, Saturday, against the Welshmen (41-28), for his last match of the tournament. And hopes for a victory from England in Ireland, late Saturday afternoon, to keep his crown.
By Clément Martel
Their share of work is done; Now their fate no longer depends on them. Large winners of Wales, Saturday March 18, at the Stade de France (41-28), the players of the XV of France completed with the 2023 edition of the Six Nations Tournament. A week after their broad victory in Twickenham, the Blues, winners of four of their five games in the competition, regain the lead in the tournament. A provisional classification, they know it, awaiting the result of the final match of this fifth day, at the end of the afternoon, between Ireland, in the running for the Grand Chelem, and England, in Redemption quest. “We can still hope for a favorable result, but we do not have the cards in hand,” commented the French coach Fabien Galkié, questioned on France 2 after the meeting. Beaten in Dublin on the second day (19-32), his troops undoubtedly lost their trophy acquired last year on the green Erin.
But before hoping for an improbable “miracle of the Saint-Patrick weekend”, the teammates of Antoine Dupont had to prevail against Ragaillaria Welsh. Was it victory in Italy, which had blown up the threatening clouds of the wooden spoon – which “rewards” the team having lost all their tournament games? Or the announcement, earlier in the day, of an agreement reached with Welsh authorities on the new players’ contracts, whistling the start of the end of the Welsh rugby structural crisis? The fact remains that the teammates of the totemic Alun Wyn-Jones (37, and 17 tournaments to his credit) began the game as liberated.
And the Blues found themselves cornered at the start. “This team has always impressed me with its virtues, with players who leave their bodies on the line, and it has long martyred the XV of France,” warned the tricolor coach on Thursday, suspecting Welsh without pressure. Is right. After eight minutes of play, George North came to concretize the beautiful start of the XV of the leek, by going to register the first test of the game. A logical reward for the players of Warren Gatland.
The Blues have reappected to prick
But the tricolor reaction was not long in coming. Following a long breakthrough by Romain Ntamack, the opening half of the opening passes to his teammate, Dupont, to put Damian Penaud to the wing. The recent best French scorer in the tournament does not lack the opportunity to flatten in the corner – and with this test, the tricolor winger has now marked against each of the five nations of the competition.
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