Saturday, November 9, was an evening of reunion in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). A year after their cruel elimination in the World Cup quarterfinals, Les Bleus returned to the Stade de France for their first match of the fall, against Japan. A meeting with the public of Ile-de-France that quickly took on the appearance of a great banquet. Several shades ahead of the Brave Blossoms, Fabien Galthié’s men made short work of their opponents, dispatching them 52-12.
If the French did not shy away from the pleasure of returning to the playing field of the Dionysian enclosure, they were especially happy to find, a year later, Antoine Dupont, their scrum-half, star and captain. His Private partner Furthermore, as one of the brass bands in the stands casually pointed out during the match. Above all, the one they had missed terribly during a mixed Six Nations Tournament, whose home games were played in Marseille, Lille and Lyon, while the usual haunt of the blues took on an Olympic beauty.
The Ile-de-France stadium did not forget Antoine Dupont and let him know by standing as one when the Toulouse number 9 tried to score a try in the second half, which he finally rejected for a forward. In Saint-Denis, the best player in the 2021 world was not out of place, he who had warmed up the place for his friends from the XV by going to collect the gold with the French rugby sevens team.
“I wasn’t lost, I quickly found myself here.” The leader of the Blues laughed the day before, during the traditional pre-match press conference. The guy is the type to keep his promises and had announced that his troops wanted “Have fun on a rugby field”. Which is due, therefore, to the Tricolors who accumulated tries throughout the afternoon, following the rhythm of their fans.
The Blues in search of redemption
In the stands, Emilia’s eyes, a song that became a kind of anthem to the glory of French athletes during the Olympic Games, was barely finished when winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey (4my minute) and center back Emilien Gailleton (10my) were already going to jump towards the opponent’s goal. As for the third row Alexandre Roumat (19my), waited for the end of the first “wave” to begin his attempt, like Bielle-Biarrey (28my), again, just before a Marseillaise It does not resonate in the bays. The issue was settled and the French fans could even afford to politely applaud the first Japanese attempt, rejected after video refereeing (38my).
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