They booed their President with gusto here on Friday night, then roared their nervous team to victory as France launched this home World Cup by condemning New Zealand to a first ever pool-stage defeat.
Emmanuel Macron was greeted with noisy disdain when he addressed the crowd after a raucous tournament opening ceremony, but what followed was a cacophonous out-pouring of Gallic pride and outrage. The pride was for their players – who needed the support to recover from a misfiring first-half – and the outrage was directed towards referee Jaco Peyper, who replaced Macron as the crowd’s pantomime villain with a series of close calls in New Zealand’s favour.
France laboured for so long to take advantage of their supremacy in much of the battle up front. Mark Telea’s two tries had propelled the All Blacks towards a win which would have spoiled the big launch party, but Fabien Galthie’s home side grew into the game in the second half and Damian Penaud’s try gave them the impetus to ignite their campaign with a prized scalp.
Anticipation levels had been in the stratosphere before kick-off, as the crowds amassed in searing heat, and in defiance of the usual transport chaos in Paris. But what they saw was no classic. It was tense and cagey on the whole, but it was also a close contest, as was expected.
This result won’t be decisive for either team, as they are both bound to qualify from Pool A, which doesn’t have the tension and jeopardy of Pools C and D. But France will take heart from how they found a way to win when operating a long way below their best.
Damian Penaud (right) scored the decisive try for France after coming close moments earlier
The pre-match withdrawal of All Black captain Sam Cane, who was injured in the warm-up, was the latest example of significant medical disruption to both teams. After a hasty reshuffle, Ardie Savea was tasked with leading the visitors into this monstrous fixture.
The Kiwis already had to cope without influential centre Jordie Barrett, while the man who would have lined up opposite him in a full-strength midfield tussle, Jonathan Danty, was ruled out of the France team. The hosts were also hampered by the absence of first-choice 10 Romain Ntamack for the whole tournament, while prop Cyril Baille was another leading man on the casualty list.
The last three World Cup openers had been home-banker processions but not this one. It was an epic curtain-raiser which had fostered a mood of wild excitement among the French public.
While the All Blacks had never lost a round-robin fixture before, they had endured their fair share of trouble against the French in past editions of the global showpiece. These rivals had put New Zealand out of the 1999 and 2007 tournaments, and so nearly spoiled their title-winning party in Auckland in 2011, before the Kiwis clung on for a nervy 8-7 win.
When these countries last locked horns at a World Cup, it turned into a blow-out as France collapsed to a 62-13 quarter-final defeat in Cardiff eight years ago. But the balance of power had shifted since then, as illustrated by the most recent meeting, which the French won 40-25 in their capital city, in November 2021.
New Zealand came into this match in backlash mode after losing 35-7 to South Africa – the worst result in their glorious oval-ball history. If they were hell-bent on making an early point after that ordeal at Twickenham, they certainly did so, within two minutes.
Rieko Ioane burst clear in midfield from a short pass and when the centre’s run was halted up by the French 22, the visitors maintained their high-tempo raid down the right. When they were awarded a penalty, Aaron Smith took a quick tap and was stopped just short. The ball came back to Beauden Barrett, he kicked to the far flank and Mark Telea took it on the bounce to score.
It was some opening salvo. The crowd were stunned into near-silence, but after Richie Mo’unga missed the wide conversion, the noise returned as France won a penalty from the re-start and Thomas Ramos hit the target for the hosts’ first points of the tournament.
The Toulouse full-back added a second penalty midway through the first half, which unfolded as a cagey, nervy affair; full of kicking and bashing, but short of flair and fluency. A three-pointer by Richie Mo’unga put the All Blacks ahead again, before Ramos responded in kind to edge the French in front once more. New Zealand came close to adding another try, but defences largely held sway until the break.
At the start of the second half, France suddenly came alive in attack – not before time. The home side finally achieved some continuity with their driving, off-loading and recycling through the phases, to pound towards the New Zealand line. But having worked up a head of steam, they couldn’t sustain it as the All Blacks won a pressure-clearing penalty deep in their own red zone.
Back came the visitors and they were the ones who struck again, in controversial fashion. In the 44th minute, New Zealand were in possession near halfway and No 8 Savea, of all people, sent over a deft chip which Will Jordan chased and regathered. He was stopped but his team were not. Ioane hurled a long pass out to Telea and he went over with a diving finish.
Mo’unga couldn’t add the extras from an awkward angle, as French fans vented their fury at Peyper and his assistants. They were overwhelmed by angst and perceived injustice, but their team focused on digging themselves out of a hole.
France needed a quick response and they set about delivering one. In the 53rd minute, Damian Penaud took the ball from a cross-kick to the right and sprinted towards the flag, but he was unable to score as Mo’unga raced across to produce a vital covering tackle.
Two minutes later, the renewed spell of Gallic pressure yielded points. A penalty in the Kiwi 22 was kicked to the corner and while the ensuing lineout was messy, France kept the ball. Peato Mauvaka and Thibaud Flament blasted forward, then Matthieu Jalibert jinked into a gap and released Penaud to touch down out wide.
Ramos’s excellent conversion put the revived French 16-13 up, then Jordan was sin-binned for taking out Ramos in the air, to leave his side down to 14 as they chased the game. Ramos’s next shot at the posts was wide, but the one after hit the target, to extend the lead to six points. Six minutes from time, his fifth penalty of the night took the gap beyond a score, before his replacement, Melvyn Jaminet, pounced on a helpful bounce from a box-kick to score a try with two minutes left.
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