Criticized after his performance against the United States despite a marked test (victory of the Blues 33-9), Alivereti Raka delivered a much more successful performance this Sunday against Tonga.

ANALYSIS

From a statistical point of view, the player of Clermont and the French team Alivereti Raka gives satisfaction: two tries blow to face the United States and this Sunday against Tonga. However, before the match this Sunday, won by the Blues on the wire (23-21), the winger tricolor was far from unanimous. Between losses of balls, bad choices and approximate investments last Thursday against the Americans, Alivereti Raka was expected at the turn. Man of the match, he answered this, without completely reassuring either.

Almost guaranteed to qualify for the quarter-finals, the team of France had to be reassured before facing England next Saturday for the last group match. Faced with Tonga, everything was not simple, quite the opposite. Possibly leading the scoreboard during the first half-hour, (17-0 to 34th), the Blues were then completely asleep by cashing a 14-0 on horseback between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.

Engineering and waste

Perfect illustration of this lack of regularity: Alivereti Raka. Brilliant at times with a marked try, the Clermont player won 142 meters in 12 races. Evidence of his ability to be dangerous anywhere, anytime. He managed to be fair in his choices while keeping a punchy side. But his activity has also generated waste: lack of support, he commits a forward to the 30th, plays too long at the foot in the 62nd, and conceded in total three "turnovers" and a penalty.

Congratulations to Alivereti Raka for his commitment to this match!
4 crossings
3 defenders defeated
1 test
He is the Player @Mastercard of the Match # FRAvTGA # RWC2010pic.twitter.com / 6bjg4HDi6M

- Rugby World Cup (@RugbyWorldCupFR) October 6, 2019

The equation may be difficult to solve for the staff of the team of France. Offensive warranties are real, as is his ability to smash opposing veneers. But that is not all because when the team of France knows a weak time, the defense of Raka is pointed directly at the finger.

Holder against Argentina in the first game, Yohan Huget embodies rather defensive balance that still seeks Jacques Brunel. If the game with ball and as important as the one without balloon, then the player of the Stade Toulouse could have a head start.

"We should not have watched him anymore"

But if France is in the quarter-finals, it owes much of it to his winger of Fijian origin, naturalized in late 2018. "Fijian wingers are extraordinary," said Tonga coach Toutai Kefu. "We knew he was a threat but we should not have watched him anymore, be more connected in defense."

Elected man of the match, Raka insisted on his complementarity with the other Fijian Virimi Vakatawa. "I'm happy with my match," he said. "I'm happy to play next to another Fijian, we talk a lot, it's easier for us because we speak the same language," he said at the end of the meeting.

Jacques Brunel had maintained Raka holder against Tonga to reaffirm his "confidence" after this "mixed performance" against the US. "It's not a last card, it was planned for a long time, but the fact of replaying will do him good," the coach had anticipated, inspired on the spot.