However decided to close this tour of November on a second victory, the Blues passed completely through this match, unable to compete in the intensity imposed by a Fijian opponent that France had always beaten so far. If the captain Guilhem Guirado has a time kept his afloat, the XV of France sank in the second half.
It's a defeat that will leave traces. And the awakening of this XV of France in search of confidence must be very painful this morning. It must be said that this team was below all Saturday night at the Stade de France, facing Fijians that were not expected at this level, but who were able to foil the Blues. In the end, the Tricolores bow 21-14, a first in over 50 years and 10 confrontations. The score could even be heavier, without the Fijian approximations that cost two tries to the latter, for an offside Radradra first, for a dangerous tackle on winger Yoann Huget then.
The top: Guilhem Guirado, baked and mill
Four is the number of tries scored by captain Guilhem Guirado on this November tour, which marked the two French tests of the Blues last night. Quite rousing statistics for a hooker, which illustrates the general mediocrity of this team on this meeting. Saturday, the captain was the only one to show an aggressiveness worthy of this blue jersey. Present in the rucks, it is also him who allows his teammates to return to the locker room with the advantage in the score at the break. Alone or almost against 15 opponents, the captain will not have avoided the sinking of his family, and it is more than annoyed that he presented himself in front of the press. "I hope it's an accident. I can not understand how to show a totally different face from one week to the next. I hope that tomorrow we will try to understand why we acted in this way. Sometimes taking a good slap in the mouth can better get up "
The flop: a collective benefit below all
The Blues had warned however: a win against Fiji can only be won at the price of a big collective performance. Something that we have seen Saturday, if not in the first 10 minutes where the Blues have tried to defend two on each opponent's ball carrier. And then, nothing, or almost, except this test torn at the end of the first half and a blurry reaction in the last 10 minutes of the game. Far too little to overthrow these brave Fijians, who have been present in the fight and have their collective talk in the most difficult times. " We had moved two steps forward, we pulled back one," coach Jacques Brunel said at a press conference, "we 'll have to start again, to regain our confidence." Unfortunately, this is the end of the (fall) session, each will go back to his club, we will stay on this difficult impression, it will be complicated. "
The note of the match: 4/10
We hoped for the show, the game of Fijians often lending. Despite four tries in the first 40 minutes, this match has not kept its promises. Blame an opponent not at the level. Because if the Fijians delivered a solid, courageous and exciting performance, this XV of France has never been able to warm up the atmosphere in a stadium that already had one of the worst influxes in its history. We would like to say that this is a game to forget, but it is better to keep it in mind and learn quickly.
- See also: VIDEO France - Fiji. The anger of Mathieu Bastareaud: "Who did we take for ourselves?"