Despite coming away on the wrong side of the score-line, Uruguay put in a stunning performance against France. Les Bleus were disjointed, yet pulled together enough to muster up the win, in a game that will be best remembered for the impressive tenacity of the South American underdogs.
The first half was a competitive 40 minutes with France only able to cross over for one try. Uruguay matched them for efforts across the whitewash, but the sharpshooting of fullback Melvyn Jamient kicked the difference between the two sides at the break. After Jamient set the tempo with a penalty after just three minutes, Uruguay shocked the Lille crowd, with a well taken try by winger Nicolas Frietas just two minutes later.
Uruguay fly-half Felipe Etcheverry contributed the assist, with a well-weighted cross field kick slipping through Jaminet’s hands, and to the feet of Frietas to control and score. Etcheverry failed to add the following conversion, and his opposite man was soon over to score France’s sole try of the first half. Antoine Hastoy muscled his way through a gap, in a straight-forward but effective move from the back of a scrum. Jamient slotted the conversion, and a subsequent penalty for a half-time tally of 13.
Romain Taofifenua was sent to the bunker, and spent 10 minutes in the bin for a high tackle on Santiago Arata. However, Taofifenua returned to the pitch, just minutes before the two sides left for half-time, with the mitigation being a significant drop in height for the towering lock.
Uruguay continued to threaten France in the second half, and came within just one point of the hosts after a 53rd minute try. Baltazar Amaya’s finish lifted the spirits of all the Uruguayans and neutral fans in the stadium. However, any hopes were soon curtailed, with replacement front-rower Peato Mauvaka scoring a retaliating try straight from the re-start.
Despite the best efforts of Uruguay’s resiliency and admitted dominance at scrum-time, France added one more try through Louis Bielle-Biarry, with the 20-year-old becoming the youngest try scorer at the Rugby World Cup. Lots to cheer about for French fans given the win, but the sighs of relief had to come first before any celebration.
FRANCE PLAYER RATINGS
15. Melvyn Jaminet 7: Consistent kicking from the tee kept the scoreboard ticking over, presented a viable replacement should Thomas Ramos miss match action in the latter stages of the tournament.
14. Louis Bielle-Biarrey 6.5: Made up for his defensive mistake in Amaya’s try with his own score at the end of the match. Exciting signs from the 20-year-old, who looks to have a bright future.
13. Arthur Vincent 5.5: Poor read in the defence for Baltazar Amaya’s try. Disjointed in his partnership with Moefana, yet did present a consistent carry option to impose physicality on Uruguay.
12. Yoram Moefana 6: In for Jonathan Danty for the second week in a row, presented good hands to ship the ball throughout the midfield. Well contained by the Uruguayans
11. Gabin Villiere 6: Unfortunate to not get on the score-sheet, yet did not ask as much of the Uruguayan defence as he would have liked. Predictable but consistently made the yards when called upon.
10. Antoine Hastoy 7.5: France’s best backs player on a slow day at the office. Scored a try, overhit a cross field kick for Bielle-Biarry, but played in his winger for a late try to redeem.
9. Maxime Lucu: 6.5: Good footwork, provided a simple assist for Hastoy’s try. (Off for Baptiste Couilloud 63′ mins)
1. Jean Baptiste-Gros 6: Solid work rate offering options around the park, inconsistent scrums were heavily penalised (Off for Reda Wardi 50 mins)
2. Pierre Bourgarit 5.5: Outclassed his opposite man in the earliest scrums, but soon faltered along with the rest of the front rowers. Unforced errors including not-straight throws. (Off for Peato Mauvaka 50 mins)
3. Dorian Aldegheri 5: Frequently penalised at the scrum and around the pitch. Lucky to avoid a yellow card, took Uruguay too lightly. (Off for Sipili Falatea 50 mins)
4. Cameron Woki: 6: Secured a key turnover at 43 mins, quieter than he would have liked but solid at the line-out when he was the target choice. (Off for Thibaud Flament 58′)
5. Romain Taofifenua: 5.5: Lucky to escape a red card for his high tackle on Santiago Arata, imposed his physicality in the second half. (Off for Chalureauat 50′ mins)
6. Paul Boudehent 6: A strong work rate, dug deep to keep Uruguay out in some pivotal moments. Not a stand-out performance by his standards.
7. Sekou Macalou – 7.5: Looked to have scored the bonus point try on big breakaway, but illegally kicked the ball through the ruck to cancel out his try. A great engine and a real fan favourite, the best French forward today.
8. Anthony Jelonch (C) 7: Made his return after a lengthy time out with injury. Led from the front well in the captaincy absence of Antoine Dupont, miss-judged a high ball and knocked it on, which cancelled out Gabin Villiere’s try.
16. Peato Mauvaka 6.5
17. Reda Wardi 5.5
18. Sipili Falatea 6:
19. Bastien Chalureau 6:
20. Thibaud Flament 6.5
21. Francois Cros 6:
22. Baptiste Couilloud 5.5
23. Thomas Ramos N/A – Unused
URUGUAY PLAYER RATINGS
15. Baltazar Amaya 7: Scored an amazing try to bring Uruguay within touching distance of France, and narrowly missed a cross field kick from his fly-half in a try-scoring opportunity.
14. Bautista Basso 6: Exciting breaks that kept France on their toes and kept Gabin Villiere under wraps for most of the game. Luckily let off by Villiere’s dissallowed try, but a solid performance.
13. Tomas Inciarte 6: Strong running lines, with one key dummy run being too strong. Illegally blocked a French defender, and cancelled out his side’s try at an important moment. Battled to the end.
12. Andres Vilaseca (C) 7: A proud captain at his third Rugby World Cup. Never stopped fighting for his country who had the favourites on the ropes for a while. Provided the assist for Etcheverry’s disallowed try.
11. Nicolas Freitas 7: Scored an unforgettable try, that gave Uruguay an early lead over Les Bleus. Great footballing skills to score the try, with even better footwork presented throughout the contest.
10. Felipe Etcheverry 7: Uruguay’s fly-half led his line with aplomb and was unlucky to have his crowd-silencing try disallowed. Not his sharpest day from the boot, but kept his side’s heads high in the crucial stages. (Off for Berchesi 58 mins)
9. Santiago Arata 6: Did well to ride the high shot from Taofifenua, and put in a strong showing as Uruguay’s most world-renowned talent. Gave away an obstruction penalty at 31 mins that gifted France territory, and withdrawn earlier than expected. (Off for Ormaechea 58 mins)
1. Mateo Sanguinetti 6: Part of the front row contingent that troubled France in the early goings, but poor disclipine disrupted the set-piece (Off for Benitez 50 mins)
2. Guillermo Pujadas 6: Similar to Sanguinetti, Uruguay’s hooker capitalised on France under-estimating them at the scrum. (Off for Gattas 50 mins)
3. Ignacio Peculo 6: The third front rower that started strong, yet repeated penalty offences hindered the flow of the scrums. Had a good run out around the park and burnt out his engine. (Off for Piussi 50 mins)
4. Felipe Aliaga 6.5: Won a big scrum penalty for his side, with France reeling on the back-foot at 31 mins. Confident to lead the set-piece, and urged his side to battle in the air. (Off for Dotti 58 mins)
5. Manuel Leindekar 6.5: The workhorse of the front five who battled for the duration, made the set-piece a troublesome area for France, and will be frustrated to see Les Blues run off with the win.
6. Manuel Ardao 6: Penalised for a clear hands in the ruck offence, as the match broke down into an out-right penalty fest. Withdrawn from action just before the hour, yet did leave his mark with some bruising tackles. (Off for Bianchi 54 mins)
7. Santiago Civetta 6: Another instrumental player who disrupted France’s flow in attack. Civetta slowed down the French ball, yet could not compete with the favourites come the match’s latter stages.
8. Manuel Diana 6: With all eyes on the returning Anthony Jelonch, Diana’s goal was to disrupt his homecoming, which had mixed results. (Off for Deus 54 mins)
16. Facundo Gattas: 6
17. Matias Benitez: 6
18. Reinaldo Piussi: 6
19. Ignacio Dotti: 6.5
20. Lucas Bianchi: 6
21. Carlos Deus: 6.5
22. Augustin Ormaechea: 6
23. Felipe Berchesi: 6.5
SCORERS: FRANCE 27 – 12 URUGUAY
FRANCE: 27
TRIES: 3 (Hastoy 10′, Mauvaka 55′, Bielle-Biarry 72′)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Jaminet 10′, 55′, 72′
PENALTIES: 2 (Jaminet 3′, 15′
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS/BUNKER: 1 (Toafifenua 26′)
RED CARDS: 0
URUGUAY: 12
TRIES: 2 (Frietas 5′, Amaya 53′)
CONVERSIONS: 1 Etcheverry 53′
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS/BUNKER: 0
RED CARDS: 0