On paper, the Teros, seventeenth in the world rankings and only three wins in five participations, should not have posed problems to the Blues, even bis.

But now, the men of Fabien Galthié, who had kept only three of the participants in the inaugural success against the All Blacks (27-13), have complicated the task despite this second victory (27-12).

"I'm very proud of the team and maybe we surprised some of you or did something historic but we knew we had prepared well. We came here with the conviction that we could compete with one of the big favorites of the World Cup. So, for us, there is nothing surprising, we played as equals with the France," said Teros captain Andres Vilaseca.

In the North, the Blues have experienced the worst difficulties against the "garra charrua", this typical Uruguayan state of mind that combines combativeness, pride and self-sacrifice.

Only three trials

"There are frankly a lot of regrets. The Uruguayans really played with the heart, we expected it and they did it very well. On our side, next time, we will have to play our real game," conceded third line Paul Boudehent.

The N.8 of the XV of France Anthony Jelonch during the World Cup match against Uruguay on September 14, 2023 ay Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

"We're not going to start self-flagellating but we have to put the ingredients on. Between what we did last week (against New Zealand, editor's note) and what we did there, it's not possible. We have the tools, we have everything in our hands. And we made a huge number of mistakes. There are many things to review. We will have to get back to work, "added the player of La Rochelle.

Fabien Galthié may assure that his France team is "not there to make demonstrations" or "to make clean copies", against Uruguay, the fact of not having collected the offensive bonus point is disorder.

The Blues, certainly largely reshuffled, seemed to evolve without a common thread. They did not know how to deploy their game and delivered probably the least successful match since the beginning of the Galthié mandate.

"Unacceptable"

The fault to fifteen penalties, "inadmissible at international level" for the second line Cameron Woki, but not only. The French, usually so rigorous, seemed to lack binding and concentration, like this try inflicted after six minutes of play by a second division player, the winger of Vannes (Pro D2) Nicolas Freitas.

Baltazar Amaya (l) congratulated by his captain Andres Vilaseca after scoring a try for Uruguay against the France XV at the World Cup on September 14, 2023 at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

Worse, the defense, supposed to be a strong point, once again seemed brittle (18 missed tackles) while the substitutes, expected at the turn, did not know how to shake up the hierarchy.

Opener Antoine Hastoy, despite his try, piled up the wrong choices, including his pass to the foot too long for Gabin Villière (37th) while the second line Romain Taofifenua celebrated his 33rd birthday with a yellow card that could have been red (27th).

Finally, center Yoram Moefana certainly participated defensively (15 tackles) but his offensive contribution was meagre, like winger Gabin Villière, who is struggling to find his best level.

The staff of the XV of France now has a little less than a week to rectify the shot before facing the very modest Namibia (21st in the world), who has never won a match in the World Cup, on September 21 in Marseille.

© 2023 AFP