Playing the world champions at home in the Newsland Stadium in Cape Town is already particularly challenging. It becomes even more complicated when, in South Africa, even without the vuvuzelas, there is this electric atmosphere of collective euphoria generated by the World Cup that transcends an entire nation and pushes the Springboks to continue striving for recognition in a country where, for the first time, all eyes are on the Bafana Bafana.
Then there’s the objective reason mentioned before the match by the national coach Marc Lièvremont—the lack of physical freshness of the French players following an exhausting season compared to the South Africans, who are in the middle of theirs and, in any case, play far fewer matches than the Europeans. However, this situation is not new and has not prevented the French team from winning in South Africa at this same time of year in the recent past.
So why?
Well, there was this match with its unfolding and a catastrophic start from the French XV; first, a counter initiated by Bryan Habana leading to a try by the No. 8 Spiers, followed by a try from the little winger Aplon, both converted by Morne Steyn, who then succeeded with a penalty, making it 17/0 after 20 minutes of play; a 17-point gap that is impossible to overcome, especially when you’re countered in attacks and lineouts, dominated in ground combat phases, and sometimes deficient in game launches and tackles, all amplified by the very strict New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence, penalizing the French 18 times—French players who clearly have not yet adapted to the new rules regarding the tackler/tackled area.
The positive side for the French team boils down to a consistently strong scrum and some very good initiatives in relaunches and down the line from the fullback Clément Poitrenaud and the three wings who played—Vincent Clerc, Aurélien Rougerie, and Marc Andreu; Rougerie and Andreu each scored a very fine try, totaling two tries for Thierry Dusautoir’s teammates against the South Africans’ five. The score is steep but should not undermine the generally positive assessment that all specialists have about the potential of this French team. They now need to quickly regroup to best approach their next test match against the Argentine team, which will take place in Buenos Aires in 15 days.
Bruno Kauffmann
