The French team was defeated with honor in the World Cup final against the All Blacks (7-8) after a very intense match. While this victory rewards the best team of the tournament, it leaves us with some regrets.
This France-New Zealand match was once again unlike any other, even though all sorts of misfortunes had been predicted for our players. From the moment of the Haka, they demonstrated they were ready to rise to the challenge by forming the V for victory and advancing toward their opponents.
The start of the match confirmed this feeling, with the Blues imposing a long sequence of play on the Blacks without scoring. On the contrary, during their first incursion into our territory, the New Zealanders found a gap due to a gross error in the French lineout. The battle was fierce, and Parra was the first victim, depriving us of our best scorer. Despite this stroke of bad luck, the Blues showed courage and solidarity, fending off the Black’s assaults.
The pressure weighing on our opponents’ shoulders became increasingly heavy. Weepu proved deficient with his goal attempts, and the Blues threw all their strength into the battle, allowing their captain to score the try of hope. This awoke the ghosts of 1999 and 2007 in the minds of the All Blacks.
From then on, the Kiwis focused on capturing, occupying, and defending so as not to be exposed to the French counterattacks. Despite their lack of offensive organization, they challenged their opponents but weren’t rewarded due to Mr. JOUBERT’s questionable refereeing, particularly regarding the breakdown. The All Black forwards only needed to retain the ball for three long minutes to finally liberate an entire nation that had been waiting for this moment for twenty-four years.
