A difficult awakening for the Blues
The aftermath of defeat is always a difficult awakening. Even more so when the dream of a first world title vanished on Sunday evening, with three whistles from the referee. Despite a Stade de France committed to its cause and a performance so far without fault, the XV of France lost by one point against South Africa, in the quarter-finals of its World Cup, and leaves prematurely a competition that he dreamed of winning at home. This Monday, the press is bitter. The broken dreamwe can read on the front page of Le Parisien, accompanied by the face of Antoine Dupont, the hands…
The controversy surrounding arbitration
How can you incur the wrath of former centrist MP Jean-Christophe Lagarde, astronaut Thomas Pesquet and former French XV star Sébastien Chabal in the same evening? Ben O’Keeffe has the privilege of having succeeded, in 80 minutes and a World Cup quarter-final narrowly lost by the Blues on Sunday evening at the Stade de France, to create this cocktail of resentment, to which the we can undoubtedly add several million French people in front of their television. The New Zealand match referee has joined the list of officials accused, by fans across a country, of deliberately spoiling the…
Key moments
The emergency return of Antoine Dupont after his injury was not enough for the Blues to beat the Springboks in an epic but cruel match. This came down to a few details:
- A try refused at half-penalty at the start of the match.
- An unclear yellow card for Yoram Moefana.
- A final contentious penalty which deprives the French of a historic victory.
These events fueled the controversy surrounding arbitration and sparked numerous reactions on social networks.
A disillusionment for French supporters
It’s the soup of grimaces in the four corners of France. Beaten by one point against South Africa, the reigning world champion, the French XV left its many supporters inconsolable this Sunday, October 15. Long undecided, still disputed, the quarter-final between France and South Africa ended with a score of 28-29. A cruel disillusionment, like the images of captain Antoine Dupont, inconsolable, after having made an express return to find France in time for this match.
Fan reactions
On social networks, French supporters expressed their disappointment and frustration at this elimination. Some pointed the finger at Ben O’Keeffe’s refereeing, while others praised the performance of the Springboks and thanked the French XV for the course achieved during this World Cup.
What future for the XV of France?
Despite this defeat in the quarter-finals, the French XV can be proud of their performance during this World Cup. The Blues showed great things on the pitch and proved that they were capable of competing with the best teams in the world. It is now time to learn the lessons of this competition and focus on the next events, in particular the VI Nations Tournament which will begin in February 2023. The French XV still has plenty of room for improvement, and the players can have great ambitions for the years to come.
