5. France Find a Way to Win Despite Under-Par Dupont
A true winning team can come up with the goods, even if their talisman is having an off day. The 2011 All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup with Dan Carter out injured, and France demonstrated today that they do not need to rely on Dupont’s excellence to get the win. The competition’s poster boy had an uncharacteristically quiet day at the office, with the last-minute back-row pairing of Va’ai and Papali’i able to bring Dupont to ground off the back of a few more scrums than usual.
Aaron Smith was in no doubt in Dupont’s ear, reminding him about how all eyes are on the Toulouse scrum half, having seen his image plastered on every billboard throughout Paris. Dupont seemed distracted, his reactions weren’t quite as razor sharp as normal, and he even looked mortal enough to spill the ball into touch. An expected blip to shake off the nerves that come with being your nation’s hero, yet he will be delighted to get the all important Pool A opener under his belt.
If Dupont hits top gear, France have a undoubted right to win their first Rugby World Cup. And even so, with the little magician off the boil tonight in Paris, Fabien Galthie’s men were able to soundly beat the All Blacks. The home nation support will lift each and every one of the men in a ‘Bleu’ jersey, with Melvyn Jaminet a prime example. Coming off the bench full of adrenaline, Jaminet scored his first ever international try, and closed out the win in style for France.
FRANCE: 27
TRIES: 2 (Penaud 56′, Jaminet 77′)
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Ramos 56′)
PENALTIES: 5 (Ramos 4′, 19′, 28′, 64′, 72′)
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS (BUNKERS):
RED CARDS:
NEW ZEALAND: 13
TRIES: 2 (Telea 2′, 43′)
CONVERSIONS: 0
PENALTIES: 1 (Mo’unga 25′)
DROP GOALS:
YELLOW CARDS ((BUNKERS)): 1 (Jordan ((57′))
RED CARDS:
Featured Image: Credit – World Rugby Media Zone