And France ran into South Africa. The host team walked around dressed as a favorite to compete for are World Cup and the cruel draw placed them in the quarterfinals against the current champions. He was about to knock them down in another match to remember. To a couple of points, specifically.
Forman los Springboks a rough, herculean and resentful team. Their eight starting forwards this Sunday were over 30 years old, none of them are under 60 caps. Reinforced concrete. France responded to the challenge from the lineup. He factor Dupont. He reappeared as a starter the marshal Gallo 24 days after his cheekbone fracture.
The European fifteen came into this uncertain tie as one of the teams that scores the most in the first part of the matches. He touched the try in the second minute and conquered it in the third. How it hurts South Africans the most. At the exit of a touche set up a maul who advanced almost 20 meters and, already next to the line, sought superiority in a corner for Baille’s try (7-0, min 5). A minute later, with France in disarray, South Africa was only able to stop the leak when the locals were almost celebrating the try.
Such close confrontations change in a second, due to a detail. South Africa, until then outmatched, got oil from a hanging kick in midfield. Her wing Arendse caught her and ran to pose (7-7, min 10). What had seemed like fortune was actually a recipe. He repeated it. Vertical kick with near drop, split landing, ball for los Springboks and Damian de Allende’s run that ended in his own try (7-12, min 18). Angry, France took the initiative again. In your case, at hand. Colliding and looking for gaps, alternating the horizontal and vertical lines, accelerating in the 22nd so that the heeler Meuwaka, splendid in the first half, got the tie (12-12).
Very hard percussion from the forwards gave way to a festival of sprinters. The match, of exceptional intensity, turned into an offensive exhibition. And the South African Kolbe, who could not be absent, was present. He first arrived in time to block the conversion with sticks of a try, a gesture who knows whether it was decisive given the final result. He then escaped in a sprint for the third try (12-19, min. 26). The local fifteen, led by Dupont, entered with unstoppable ferocity, once again, into the opposing 22 and Baille posed (19-19, min 32). Six rehearsals in just over half an hour. If France seemed unstoppable advancing in a group, South Africa delivered lethal pecks with its wings. Ramos’ sure footing put the French team ahead just before the break (22-19).