rugby

2023-09-27 06:59:00
William Servat himself was evasive on the case of Antoine Dupont on Tuesday at a press conference. But, very quickly, he invoked a right: that of saying that we do not know. “Let’s be reasonable and let the specialists talk regarding these things,” asked “la Bûche.” Let’s just try to welcome the information and respect the people.” Facts ? “Antoine underwent surgery to install a plate” last Friday. The new ? “He will be back for training on Sunday.” For the rest: caution.
1695801630
#thorny #case #injury #Antoine #Dupont #France #William #Servat #discussion #PMU

2023-09-26 10:52:00

“Antoine is our captain, he’s the best player in the world.” In one sentence, three-quarter center Arthur Vincent summed up the concern facing the French XV following the fracture of the Toulouse scrum half’s jaw once morest Namibia. Not only is he irreplaceable in the game, but at 26 years old, he has become an essential leader of the group well beyond the confines of the field.

His absence once morest Italy for the last match of the group stage, and perhaps beyond, even if optimism reigns regarding his possible return from the quarter-finals, therefore causes a double lack. So, who will the French staff choose to recover the armband in the short and perhaps a little longer term in this World Cup?

Unless there is a huge surprise from behind the fagots, Fabien Galthié will draw from his trusted men who are among his “Council of Wise Men”, which leaves five candidates. The case of Julien Marchand, injured during the opening match and who hopes to return soon, differs a little from that of his comrades. Roster review of the four other possible candidates.

Charles Ollivon

30 ans
37 selections
Club : RC Toulon
Position: Third line

The favorite is undoubtedly him. For several reasons. Firstly because before the induction of Antoine Dupont as captain of the Blues in 2022, it was he who held this role. At 30 years old, he has both experience at the highest level and that of the role of captain. When he arrived at the head of the French team, it was he who Fabien Galthié chose to take on this status of leader. With the Toulonnais, the coach liked the slightly bumpy path of the one who has hardened over the years.

“Quickly, the profile of Charles Ollivon stood out,” Galthié explained at the time. “Due to his career as a rugby player, which is not always easy. Brilliant player at Bayonne, Toulon, then in the French team . And the physical problems, the emptiness and almost nothing. We’ve all gone through those moments, moments that make you doubt but grow. He managed to come back, and come back very strong.”

In a clear sign, during the post-match conference once morest Namibia, it was Charles Ollivon who was seated alongside Fabien Galthié to answer questions from the media. A reassuring leader among the group, very listened to, a good communicator too, the one who became a record holder for the number of tries scored by a forward in the French team therefore seems ideally suited to embrace this role of captain, including if the absence of Dupont must have been longer than expected.

Charles Ollivon training with the Blues.

Credit: Getty Images

Grégory Damn it

26 ans
42 selections
Club: Stade Rochelais
Position: Third line

Another third line. Grégory Alldritt has taken a huge place in the game of the French XV in recent seasons. He has established himself as an essential leader in the game and in the locker room. He is one of the four members of the Council of Wise Men set up by Fabien Galthié, from whom it is a safe bet that the captain once morest Italy (and more eventually) will emerge. Then, following all, the captain of Stade Rochelais, double European champion, is him.

On the other hand, he only occupied this role once in the French team. It was during the preparation match for the World Cup this summer once morest Fiji. He seems to have quite thrived there. “It’s a great honor, I feel a lot of pride, but it’s a label that doesn’t change the person I am,” summed up the maritime flanker. Can Galthié take a step forward with him in a very different context next week?

What changes here is that the next captain will not be just for one match, as was the case for Alldritt once morest Fiji, but until the return of Antoine Dupont, who will perhaps be in the match next, but no one can guarantee it at this time given the nature of the blue scrum-half’s injury. At this stage, Greg Alldritt acts more as a joker, who passed his first test successfully, than as a favorite. Especially since his knee injury leaves a little doubt regarding his own presence once morest the Squadra.

Alldritt in action, group play and dexterity exercise: Monday’s training for the Blues

Gaël Fickou

29 ans
70 selections
Club : Racing 92
Position: Three-quarter center

He does not have the media and popular stature of Antoine Dupont, he goes to queens less often than Damian Penaud, but Gaël Fickou is also a must for this French team and he has all the confidence of Fabien Galthié. It is not for nothing that the center of Racing 92 was also integrated into this famous Council of Wise Men.

With more than 80 caps under his belt under the age of 30, he has invaluable experience at the highest level. Above all, with the Blues, he has experienced everything, from the deepest disasters in the heart of the 2010s to the rebirth of the last campaigns. It was really during the Galthié era that he established himself both as an indestructible starter but also as a respected leader. There is great trust between the two men.

Regarding the captaincy, Fickou never asked for anything. He was able to suggest, sometimes, as during the last Tournament, when he spoke of his pleasure in encouraging, speaking, saying things within the group and reprimanding if necessary, while recalling that, among young people, he had very quickly assumed this status. It would be a little surprise to see him appointed, but ultimately, would it really be so surprising given his place in this team, his links with the staff and his enormous experience?

Gaël Fickou and Damian Penaud

Credit: Imago

Anthony Jelonch

27 ans
27 selections
Club: Stade Toulousain
Position: Third line

Imagine for a second that Antoine Dupont is not able to return and that the France team finishes this World Cup with Anthony Jelonch at its head. Imagine, once more, that it was him who lifted the William Webb Ellis trophy at the end of October at the Stade de France. What revenge on destiny it would be for him, who believed he would be deprived of this 2023 World Cup at home following his cruciate knee ligament rupture once morest Scotland during the 2023 Tournament.

We’re not there yet but one thing’s for sure, now that he’s back, Jelonch is back on this team. It is no coincidence that the staff named him captain for Uruguay, for his first match following six months of absence. But Uruguay was by nature a simple interim, the XV having been almost completely reshuffled following the initial fight once morest the All Blacks.

The situation is different this time but the Toulousain, a great friend of… Antoine Dupont in life, has already occupied the role of captain with the Blues, from the summer tour to Australia in 2021. A rather taciturn captain, not fond of big phrases, long tirades and rants, he imposes a form of natural authority which pleased the rest of the group.

Jelonch starting once morest Uruguay: “I think it’s fantastic but I’m worried”

1695728127
#World #Cup #French #team #captain #replace #Antoine #Dupont

2023-09-25 21:44:00

The ranking will be revealed this week, in five parts, from Monday to Friday, with the top 10 this Friday. Reminder: it was established for the first nine editions of the World Cup, from 1987 to 2019 inclusive. There is therefore no match from the current edition.

50. Wales – Australia 1987

Score : 22-21
Round: Match for 3rd place
Lieu : Rotorua International Stadium (Rotorua)
Date: June 18, 1987

So we begin this long look in the rearview mirror of the World Cup with a… match for 3rd place. The very first. Insignificant in terms of the impact of the result, but this Wales-Australia came to end the total failure of the Wallabies, far too sure of themselves in this first edition. After the defeat in the semi-final once morest France, this is the second blade which cuts the hair of a misplaced ego. Only one match interested coach Alan Jones: the announced final once morest the All Blacks. His men will ultimately have lost once morest two northern nations. Here, the Australians are crucified by a try from winger Adrian Hadley in the last minute and come out of this World Cup with their heads down.

49. Scotland – Ivory Coast 1995

Score : 89-0
Round: Group stage
Lieu : Olympia Park (Rustenburg)
Dates: May 25, 1995

36 years following its debut, the World Cup has slowly emerged from a form of inbreeding between the southern giants and the traditional Tournament nations in Europe. It is in this sense that the first, and to date last, participation of Côte d’Ivoire in 1995 was an event. An incredible adventure, while the national selection did not exist two decades earlier.

There is no match once morest Scotland in their first appearance. The XV du Chardon won 89-0. Gavin Hastings scores 44 points alone. A record, which will only hold for a few days, before New Zealander Simon Culhane beats it by one during the Blacks’ defeat once morest Japan. What does posterity care for? Unfortunately, the great Ivorian adventure turned into a tragedy during the match once morest Tonga, with the serious injury of Max Brito, injured in the vertebrae and paralyzed. The worst tragedy in the history of the World Cup.

48. Uruguay – Fiji 2019

Score : 30-27
Round: Group stage
Lieu : Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium (Kamaishi)
Date: September 25, 2019

It’s not quite on the same level as the gigantic surprise that Japan’s victory once morest South Africa was four years earlier, but Uruguay’s victory once morest Fiji remains one of the most famous sensations of the history of the group stages. An almost improbable defeat for the Fijians, who achieved a form of feat by losing despite… five tries. For “Los Teros”, it is certainly not a first, but this success is of a different scale than the two won in 1999 once morest Spain, and once morest Georgia four years later.

47. Fiji – Argentina 1987

Score : 28-9
Round: Group stage
Lieu : Rugby Park (Hamilton)
Dates: May 24, 1987

This was the great discovery of this very first World Cup, in 1987. Fiji was then completely unknown to the general public. Fijian rugby emerged significantly in the early 1980s and the invitation to the 1987 World Cup allowed the men of the islands to distinguish themselves. They created the first great sensation in history by clearly beating Argentina in the first round, a nation much more established and respected at the time. The Fijian game, unstructured but sometimes sparkling, brings a salutary touch of freshness.

46. ​​South Africa – England 2007

Score : 15-6
Round: Final
Location: Stade de France (Saint-Denis)
Date: October 20, 2007

Perhaps the “worst” World Cup final so far. The only one, in any case, without the slightest attempt. A first sign. It wasn’t the most glamorous poster either. If South Africa were among the favorites, this was not the case for the English title holders, who came from nowhere to defend their crown in the final at the Stade de France. But this Rose still stung less than that of 2003. Without really trembling, the Springboks won the fight, on the basis of an impassable defense. A logical success in view of this final and this tournament, but for the emotion, we will come back.

45. New Zealand – Argentina 2015

Score : 26-16
Round: Group stage
Location: Wembley (London)
Date: September 19, 2015

The Pumas have never come so close to bringing down the black ogre in the World Cup. Reading the final score does not do justice to the progress of what was, for both teams, their first match in this 2015 World Cup. Argentina even failed to collect the defensive bonus, although it had led the score almost until the hour mark.

Jostled in the scrum, undisciplined like their captain Richie McCaw, the All Blacks will make the difference with their bench, notably Sonny Bill Williams, in the last part of the match. They avoided a historic defeat but they have rarely been threatened like this in the group stage (until their defeat this year once morest the Blues…).

44. Argentina – France 2007

Score : 17-12
Round: Group stage
Location: Stade de France (Saint-Denis)
Date: September 7, 2007

Argentinians in tears on the field during the anthems. French people overloaded with emotions following reading the famous letter from Guy Môquet in the locker room by Bernard Laporte. The former are galvanized by this overflow. The Blues, for their part, will be scared to death, as if it were war, as if they were gambling with their lives. In short, Laporte’s team was wrong in its approach and it paid for it by giving in in this opening match of “its” World Cup, at the Stade de France. Trailing 14-3 then 17-9 at the break, it will never come back.

43. Australia – South Africa 1999

Score: 27-21 (following overtime)
Round: Semi-final
Lieu : Twickenham Stadium (Londres)
Date: October 30, 1999

Nick Mallett had warned: his men would not play “a very open match”. Effectively. Against England in the quarters, this option paid off, the world champions relying largely on the boot of their fly-half transformed into a hero, Jamie De Beer. In fact, for 100 minutes, since this semi-final went into overtime, South Africa lived, and finally perished by the foot of JDB, who never stopped trying to occupy the field.

But unlike the English, the Wallabies were prepared for this monomaniacal approach. They are also more complete than the English and if the fate of this match took a long time to be sealed, the Australian victory remains logical. One thing is certain, this semi-final suffered historically from the comparison with that between France and New Zealand which would be held the next day at the same place, at Twickenham. To the point of falling into a form of oblivion despite the intensity of the debates.

42. France – England

Score : 19-12
Round: Quarter-final
Lieu : Eden Park (Auckland)
Date: October 8, 2011

After the shame and dismay, revolt. After two defeats in the semi-finals once morest the English in 2003 and 2007, the Blues once once more found their neighbor and enemy in a decisive match in 2011, in the quarter this time. Is Marc Lièvremont’s team still really his? The first round, marked by defeats once morest the Blacks and especially once morest Tonga, plunged the group into doubt and distanced the coach from his players.

They take charge, make tactics, minimize game launches. But it’s all a question of desire and honor. France delivers its best half in ages and leads 16-0 at the break. The English reaction, inevitable, makes the rest more complex but the Blues cling to this success which changes their destiny in this 2011 World Cup. They are always capable of the best. Especially when you expect the worst…

41. Australia – France 1999

Score : 35-12
Round: Final
Lieu : Millennium Stadium (Cardiff)
Dates: November 6, 1999

Grand finals, thrilling and exciting, are rare. This was no exception to the rule. But it has historic significance since, at the time, it was the first time that a nation had won a second star. Paradoxically often forgotten, Australia 1999 is perhaps the best team to have lifted the William Webb Ellis Trophy. Led by their captain John Eales, alias “Nobody” because “Nobody’s perfect”, the Wallabies have no flaws, from the Larkham-Gregan hinge to their phenomenal third line like number 8 Kefu.

And what defense! Only one try conceded throughout the tournament. The Blues, exhausted by their heroic victory once morest the Blacks in the half, will in turn break their noses on the yellow and green wall. However, at the hour mark, the dream remains accessible (18-12). Then the French XV ends up physically exploding and the two Australian tries give an almost unfair magnitude to the score. But the best team won, no doubt regarding it.

1695684983
#World #Cup #Top #memorable #matches #50th #41st #place