FRANCE ON THE RWC STAGE
Could France rewind the clock back to Cardiff 2007 and shock New Zealand with another quarter-final victory at the Millennium Stadium eight years on at Rugby World Cup 2015? That was the talk ahead of the most contested fixture in Rugby World Cup history.
Unfortunately for Les Bleus, the answer was an emphatic no. With the All Blacks in irresistible form and France just happy to be there after four rather tame performances in the pool stages, Les Bleus exited the competition on the back of a record 62-13 defeat.
It was the seventh meeting between the teams on the Rugby World Cup stage – the first having come in the final of the inaugural tournament back in 1987. While not on the same scale as their Cardiff capitulation, France were well-beaten that day too, losing 29-9 at Eden Park.
By then, France had run their race. An epic semi-final win over Australia, courtesy of Serge Blanco’s brilliant last-gasp try, had drained them physically and emotionally and they were no match for the All Blacks in the title decider.
Always the bridesmaid and never the bride is the story of France’s Rugby World Cup adventure as no other team has reached three finals without lifting the Webb Ellis Cup.
They would have to wait another 12 years, though, before reaching their next final, at RWC 1999.
Their interest in the 1991 tournament came to an inglorious end on home soil against England. Having finished top of Pool 4, France drew England in the quarter-finals with the prospect of a semi-final against Scotland or Western Samoa to come should they beat their arch-rivals.
It was Blanco’s 93rd appearance for Les Bleus, and it turned out to his swansong as England kept their heads while France lost theirs in a brutal encounter that ended in a 19-10 victory for their cross-channel foes.
RWC 1995 was the stage for another France great to say farewell, as Philippe Sella announced his international retirement following his country’s semi-final exit.
Having won a test series in three of the toughest environments in world rugby in the years leading up to the tournament in South Africa – Argentina (1992), South Africa (1993) and New Zealand (1994) – France certainly had it in them to give Sella the dream send off.
But their campaign only really sparked into life in the dying seconds of the final pool match against Scotland when, with the clock ticking down, Emile Ntamack dived over in the corner to continue their interest in the tournament.
They accounted for Ireland in the quarter-final to set up a semi-final showdown with South Africa. But the Springboks were far better-equipped to deal with the monsoon conditions in Durban and they prevailed 19-15.
As the bronze final winners of four years earlier, France avoided the revamped qualification procedure for the next tournament and went through as of right.
Their 43-31 semi-final win over the All Blacks at Twickenham at RWC 1999 may not be the biggest comeback in Rugby World Cup history, but it was the greatest given the stakes and the opposition in front of them.
France looked down and out, trailing New Zealand 24-10, before going on to score 33 points to the All Blacks’ seven. As was the case in 1987 the unpredictable French were unable to back it up in the final against Australia. French attacks floundered in the face of a fierce and watertight Wallabies defence and they were well-beaten again in the final, losing 35-12.
A northern hemisphere side went on to lift the Webb Ellis Cup at the fifth time of asking in 2003, but it was England, not France, that delivered. France had played some magnificent rugby as well as showing a new-found resolve in defence en route to the knockout stages.
That continued in the quarter-final against Ireland, who’d barely had time to draw breath before finding themselves 37 points down with only just over half the match gone. France ran out 43-21 winners.
The weather all week had been fine and things looked set up perfectly for France to continue their ball-in-hand game in the semi-final against England. However, the bad weather rolled in on the eve of the match to literally rain on France’s parade and Jonny Wilkinson subsequently booted them out of the competition.
France staged a wonderful tournament in 2007, attracting record attendance and TV audience figures. However, the host nation’s unpredictability on the pitch was again in evidence as they kicked off with a shock 17-12 defeat to eventual pool-toppers Argentina.
Having finished second in Pool D, France faced up to pre-tournament favourites New Zealand without the advantage of playing on home soil. The move to Cardiff worked in their favour, though. Escaping from the goldfish bowl environment of their home tournament, Les Bleus raised their game several levels and put in a monumental defensive performance, orchestrated by defence coach Dave Ellis and led on the field by Serge Betsen, to beat the All Blacks 20-18.
As has been their way, France were unable to back up the performance and fell to a second consecutive semi-final loss to England, before slipping to another defeat against Argentina in the bronze final.
The omens did not look good once France lost to Tonga at RWC 2011, but slowly but surely Les Bleus got their campaign back on track and first-half tries from Maxime Médard and Vincent Clerc saw them exact revenge on England in the quarter-finals.
What followed were two of the most excruciatingly tight and tense matches you’ll ever see. Three Morgan Parra penalties proved enough in the semi-final as France held on to beat 14-man Wales, 9-8, but in the final against New Zealand they came out on the wrong side of an 8-7 scoreline, despite a superb performance from their try-scoring captain Thierry Dusautoir.
While devastated to have come so close only to miss out on the big prize once again, France could leave New Zealand with their heads held high and with pride restored.
Four years on, uninspiring wins over Italy, Romania and Canada at RWC 2015 were followed by a 24-9 defeat to Ireland at the Millennium Stadium in what was Louis Picamoles’ 50th test appearance. Picamoles scored for France on their return to Cardiff six days later for the quarter-final showdown with New Zealand, but by the time he had crossed in the 35th minute, the game – and France’s tournament – was already over.
RECORD BREAKER
Frédéric Michalak scored 33 points at RWC 2015 to take his overall tally in Rugby World Cups to 133 and become France’s leading points scorer in the tournament’s history.
Half-back Jean Marc Doussain became the first player to make his test debut in a RWC final when he took to the field five minutes from the end of the 2011 showpiece against New Zealand. At 20 years and 253 days, he was the third-youngest player to play a RWC final.
HIGH POINTS
Sydney’s Concord Oval may not be the best-loved of all RWC venues but it staged one of the most magical moments in the history of the tournament when Serge Blanco rounded off a sweeping move to earn France a place in the inaugural final.
New Zealand were gang-tackled out of the 2007 tournament by a France side expertly prepared for the expected All Black onslaught by defence coach Dave Ellis.
LOW POINT
Tamed by Tonga at RWC 2011, France were lucky to only lose 19-14 such was Tonga’s dominance. Despite the shock result, France still managed to limp into the knockout stages.
QUOTE, UNQUOTE
“At one point we were so close to them that they wanted to kiss the New Zealanders, but I told them to take it easy.” – France captain Thierry Dusautoir revealed how near his players came to causing an international incident during the Haka face-off before the RWC 2011 final.
STATS-AMAZING
France are 13 points short of reaching 1,500 in Rugby World Cups. Only Australia and New Zealand have accumulated more.
The pool draw for Rugby World Cup 2019 takes place in Kyoto, Japan, on 10 May, 2017. Join the Front Row HERE to be the first to receive all the latest news and ticketing updates for Japan 2019 and follow @RugbyWorldCup.
