The image haunts Welsh rugby since the 2011 World Cup: Captain Sam Warburton sees the referee of the semi-final inflicting him a red card in the 18th minute of the semi-final against the Blues, following a very dangerous tackle on the French quarterback Vincent Clerc. The third-line Welsh left his team at 14 and saw, since the bench, his teammates narrowly (8-9). Once again, Wales lost the chance to play in a World Cup final.

The Welsh have then largely avenged, beating eight out of nine the Blues at the editions of the Six Nations Tournament organized since. But this time, it is in the framework of a World Cup that the two teams clash and the meeting of Sunday in Oita takes suddenly a very great importance for the team of Wales.

Several Welsh players present 8 years ago on the field of Eden Park Auckland are still holders in the national team, like the second-line stainless Alun Wyn Jones (131 selections) which brings to Japan Captain's stripes. Stability is one of the key elements of Welsh success. "Many players have had continuity in the selection and the more you play big matches, the more you know how to prepare, what is expected of you and how to ensure," said the AFP experienced hooker replacing Ken Owens.

The coach has not changed either since the New Zealander Warren Gatland was already at the helm of the Welsh in 2011. He took this post at the end of 2007 and managed to win 4 VI Nations Tournaments with the Welsh team, turning it into one of the most dreaded teams on the planet. And he hopes to crown his 12 years of work by offering Wales a World Cup. Several Welsh players have expressed this week their desire to offer him a glorious exit.

Blues too inconstant

The French of course do not hear it that way. They hope to play again a bad trick to the Welsh dragons, inspired by their last showdown at the Stade de France. On February 1, 2019, France was certainly beaten at home (19-24) but it had managed to make a superb first half after which the Blues led 16 to 0. They had then lost the thread of the meeting and made some big mistakes which the Welsh had been able to take advantage of.

This lack of consistency over a whole match is one of the main weaknesses of the XV of France. In recent months, he has often struggled to maintain his level throughout the 80 minutes of a meeting. The scenario was repeated in this World Cup against Argentina, the Blues only winning three small points (23-20) after largely dominating the first half.

"Speed ​​will be the key to the match, we must win our duels," said three-quarter French center Gael Fickou before the quarter-final. He and his teammates have benefited from a more restful preparation phase since the Blues have not played since October 6 due to the cancellation of their fourth and final qualifier against England. The Welsh, they faced the Uruguay, Sunday, October 13, with a team reworked and got a bonus victory (35-13).

This victory allowed them to finish unbeaten their qualifying phase. The Welsh XV has been full of confidence in recent weeks, including managing to dominate Australia (29-25). And he intends to continue his momentum against the Blues who miss benchmarks.

Asked about the chances of victory of the Blues in the quarter-finals, Ugo Mola, manager of Stade Toulousain, insisted that France "finally has a big generation" of talented players. "A generation, I sincerely think, that will soon win.If it is not in the coming weeks, it will be in the coming months," said the technician, who coaches including club nuggets Romain Ntamack or Antoine Dupont . It remains to be seen if the Blues can be even more precocious by shining Sunday against the Welsh.

One change and three players present

Coach Jacques Brunel announced Friday the composition of the XV of France for Sunday's match. The scrum-half Antoine Dupont and the long-uncertain Damian Penaud, as well as the captain Guilhem Guirado, substitute in the last two matches, have been made tenure. They will start in a starting XV that has a single change compared to the winner of Argentina at the opening of the World (23-21 September 21): in second row, Arthur Iturria gives way to Bernard Le Roux , at the higher physical density, for the intense fight facing the XV Leek.

Composition of the France team for Sunday's quarter-final at Oita:

The starting XV : Médard - Penaud, Vakatawa, Fickou, Huget - (o) Ntamack, (m) A. Dupont - Ollivon, Alldritt, Lauret - Vahaamahina, B. Le Roux - Slimani, Guirado (cap), Poirot

Replacements : Baille, Cat, Setiano, Gabrillagues, Picamoles, Serin, Lopez, Rattez