Unfamiliar shirts, unfamiliar setting, but a cracking occasion and a brilliant
advertisement for the Rugby World Cup. An often turgid first half was
quickly forgotten when the contest exploded into life after the break and
New Zealand, having led 13-0 just before half-time, were hauled in and
eventually overtaken by a rampant French team.
The best bit was that they did it by playing like Frenchman – eventually.
Having kicked the leather off the ball before the break, they began to play
rugby, at times thrilling rugby. Typically, it was Frederic Michalak, coming
off the bench, who provided the critical pass for Yan-nick Jauzion’s
match-winning try, thus confirming New Zealand’s status as world-class
chokers and completing a magnificent day and highly improbable day for the
northern hemisphere. The prematch scene in the Welsh capital was strange, to
say the least.
This is France’s World Cup, yet Les Bleus’ quarter-final was played in
Cardiff after the French failed to win their pool and there were clearly
many more black shirts than blue on the streets and pouring out of the pubs.
Mixed in was a smattering of green – slightly bewildered Irish folk who’d
booked on the expectation that this would be their quarter-final too. There
was even an impassioned rendition of The Fields of Athenry midway through
the first half. Throw in the complication of an English win earlier in the
afternoon and the poor Welsh didn’t know who they were rooting for.
The game? Much of the first quarter was anticlimactic after all that, not
helped by the lengthy treatment carried out on the unfortunate Serge Betsen
who was helped off after colliding with Joe Rokocoko, to be replaced by
Imanol Harinordoquy. This beefed up the French lineout – and it’s not as
though they needed any further encouragement to kick for position.
The limit of their ambition was evident from their first meaning-ful foray
into New Zealand territory. While Jauzion made decent headway up the middle
of the park and produced reasonably quick ball, it was preordained that
Damien Traille wold drop back into the pocket for the drop goal. He missed.
New Zealand looked vulnerable in those early minutes, with Dan Carter hesitant
and Byron Kelleher having to deal with some sloppy presentation from the
lineout. They were also afflicted with the kicking bug, with Leon MacDonald
ignoring one two-man overlap near halfway in favour of hoofing down-field.
Even when they began to get their recycling going, some of the passing was
sloppy, allowing the French to put in some frightening hits in the middle of
the park.
It was in this part of the field where the had the edge, however, specifically
in the shape of Luke McAlister. His chip-and-chase led directly to the
penalty which allowed Carter to kick them into the lead and in the following
five minutes, the burly centre took control of proceedings.
First, he left Lionel Beauxis floundering with a devastating step inside – a
break that should have resulted in a try for the supporting Jerry Collins
had McAlister not tucked the ball under his arm. It still might have been a
try had Ali Williams not stepped into touch while lunging for the left
corner.
But McAlister wasn’t finished yet. Having taken another exquisite line off a
pass that looked suspiciously forward from Carter, this time he managed to
find Jerry Collins on his inside. The flanker then returned the compliment
with a delicious one-handed off-load in contact and McAlister had the
momentum to crash through Raphael Ibanez’s tackle. Carter’s conversion made
it 10-0 in the 17th minute.
It was the highlight of what was frankly a dull 40 minutes rugby. Much of this
was down to France’s rigidly limited tactics, which revolved mainly around
putting boot to ball, chasing hard and hoping for a break. The high ball won
them a penalty on 25 minutes but Beauxis was wide. That miss was compounded
when Carter made the most of Thierry Dusautoir going offside at the ruck at
the other end, stretching the Kiwis’ lead by three.
New Zealand were far from impressive – Carter was blessed to get away with his
cross-kick to Sivivatu across the 22. France had more of the territory but
were frustrated in their attempts to turn it into points. Their fans
whistled derisively as yet another Traille long ball rolled over the
dead-ball line, then whistled again as Jean-Baptiste Elissalde pushed
another penalty to the right of the posts. It was only in first half injury
time that Beauxis finally put them on the board with a penalty, giving them
a sliver of hope.
It was enough. Given field position by the counter-attack-ing of their wings,
they scored first after the break thanks to McAlister’s indiscipline – by
taking Jauzion out off the ball, he went to the bin, while Beauxis kicked
the points.
Having weathered some retaliation, France soon cashed in on their extra man.
Vincent Clerc and David Marty almost put Harinordoquy in at the right corner
but two phases later, Clerc’s delightfully delayed pass put Thierry
Dusautoir through a hole. Beauxis’s conversion went over.
Both coaches introduced fresh legs but it was Brendon Leonard, on for
Kelleher, who had the immediate impact, probing around the fringes to set up
a typical lunging try for Rodney So’oialo early in the final quarter. But
the French weren’t finished yet.
Once Traille and Michalak combined to put Jauzion over, all it took was
Elissalde’s conversion to complete New Zealand’s misery.
Star man: Vincent Clerc(France)
New Zealand:L MacDonald (Canterbury); J Rokocoko (Auckland), M
Muliaina (Waikato), L McAlister (Auckland), S Sivivatu (Waikato); D Carter
(Canterbury, N Evans (Otago) 56min, I Toeava (Wellington) 71min), B Kelleher
(Waikato, B Leonard (Waikato) 56min); T Woodcock (Auckland), A Oliver
(Otago), C Hayman (Otago, A Hore (Wellington) 56min), K Robinson (Waikato, C
Jack (Canterbury) 50min), A Williams (Auckland), J Collins (Wellington, C
Masoe (Wellington) 63min), R McCaw (capt, Canterbury), R So’oialo
(Wellington).
Yellow card: New Zealand:McAlister (46min) Tries: McAlister 17,
So’oialo 63 Con: Carter. Pens: Carter (2)
France:D Traille (Biarritz); V Clerc (Toulouse), D Marty (Perpignan),
Y Jauzion (Toulouse), C Heymans (Toulouse, C Dominici (Stade Francais)
70min); L Beauxis (Stade Francais, F Michalak (Toulouse) 68min), J-B
Elissalde (Toulouse): O Milloud (Bourgoin, J-B Poux (Toulouse) ht), R Ibanez
(capt, Wasps, D Szarzewski (Stade Francais) 51min), P de Villiers (Stade
Francais), F Pelous (Toulouse, S Chabal (Sale) 51min), J Thion (Biarritz), S
Betsen (Biarritz, I Harinordoquy (Biarritz) 5min), T Dusautoir (Toulouse), J
Bonnaire (Clermont-Auvergne).
Tries: Dusautoir 54, Jauzion 69 Cons: Beauxis, Elissalde. Pens: Beauxis (2)
Referee: W Barnes (England). Attendance: 71,700
OK ladies here we have it, an independent review, not sanctioned by the IRB, showed 13 calls going against New Zealand and three against France, which were wrong.
Alot of you show your true colours when you seem excited the All Blacks were knocked out.
Let go of your NZ bashing for one minute and realise no team at this level can beat 13 wrong decisions and still only lose by 2 points. Fair waether supporters most of you.
CC, london,
Absolute comedy from the whining Kiwi supporters. To blame the referee for sin binning McAllister and a touch judge for missing a marginal forward pass genuinely makes me laugh. I would just like to make reference to a couple of things that the All Blacks have got away with in the past:
- Nearly crippling Brian O'Driscoll and failing to apologise ("It's not tennis, Brian");
- Umaga's forward pass to leading to a try by Rocokoko in the first Lions test;
- Ali Williams stamping repeatedly on Josh Lewsey's head in 2003;
Show a bit of class boys (see above point re: apologising to O'Driscoll) and realise that you blew it again.
Alex Cockburn, London,
I have to agree with CC of London, take the blinkers off O’Reilly! Go France!!!!!
MD, Auckland, NZ
The All Blacks were prevented from remaining deliberately offside and applying their own rules in the ruck, thanks to a good refereeing.There is no doubt, the All Blacks played poorly, and possibly thought it was forgone conclusion, maybe the did a *Gordon Brown * and choked at that all important moment.
Anyway, well done France, you have put on a great World Cup and well deserve to be in semi-finals.
jose, London, UK
Just to add that Betsen was knocked out by a good right hit in the jaw when trying to stand up ... this piece of art sport action was signed by the kiwi number 4. That was the early clue the ABs were in a doubtfull mind and worried about their own capacity to win the game, despite the best players and best war machine ruck gaming.
jibedi, paris, france
I too am baffled that more has not been said about two poor refereeing decisions. One that gave the French 3 points just before half time and the other that reduced the Kiwis to 14 men which helped Les Bleus to score their try.
Hats off to Sean Fitzpatrick for not mentioning his clear frustrations after the final whistle interview.
Pure opportunism from the French, not totally deserved but well taken.
Come on England!
Rob Price, Stoke on Trent,
France didn't win in my eyes; the forward pass from Michalak should never have been allowed.
NZ was robbed by an uncompetent referee Wayne Barnes.
Period.
Dallas Takitimu, Bristol, UK
Seems odd that there is no reference to the blatently forward pass from Michalak to complete the second try or the very questionable yellow card.
Interesting that the ref was English...
NZ may have choked once more, but at least they play high quality rugby continually - unlike England who frankly have made the title of Word Champions look laughable with their perputually poor performance over the last four years.
R Jones, Basingstoke, Hants
The second half was the best of the world cup to date. French flair won the day.
Eddie Flynn, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland
Speaking as a frenchman : it was one of the most intense moment of sport for the nation. As good as 1999's semi-final win against New-Zealand, as good as 1998's win against Brazil or 2000 win against Italy.
As usual we won this match as nobody believes in our chance. We were the underdogs Typical french win.
If we stick with our french behaviour, then we'll lost against England...I hope not, but it won't be a surprise...
Vive la France !
Gensini, Paris, France
We were beaten fair and square by the better team on the day, well done to the French! They deserve the win. Good luck to them.
No grumbles, no complaints, no excuses.
matt fitz, Hamilton, New Zealand
Time to re write the game plan for the Allblacks.
1. The Allblacks are too inward looking. They need a NON NZ coach otherwise we will be hearing the same song in 4 years time.
2. The Allbacks do NOT enjoy plaing rugby; there is an agony of expectation from the whole country. As soon as they start to falter on the field the team mentally collapses under the weight of it all.
Gene, Sydney,
Four more years, boys.
Paul Francis, Brisbane, Australia
It was a game of two halves and the english ref won,... what a joke. Sure the All Blacks played poorly in the 2nd half, that was clear - but to have the French effectively "given" 10 points by the ref due to an exceptionally poor sin bin decision, a 1 metre+ forward pass and continuous offside tactics - how can you compete fairly against that? In a crucial match like that, and when there is only 2 points the difference PLEASE put on a ref and touch judges who have considerable experience. In my opinion, a different referee could have brought about a different result - games shouldnt be won on a referees poor decision. But, whats done is done, so my hat goes off to the French as they played and defended exceptionally well. Lets hope Wayne Barnes doesnt referee anymore games,... should France beat England next week.
James, Auckland, New Zealand
If ITV insist on having only English men as their main commentators, they are in danger of not only boring everyone with their continual rhetoric about ENgland ,but they will encourage evn more people to dislike the English team. What a great day at the office for the English front row, and what courage from the rest of the team. No one can take away a great victory, but please now commentators shut up.
Great game from France to put the arrogant All Blacke in their box.
Gerry Collins, Dundonald, N.I.
Who won the line outs? NZ
Who won the scrums ? NZ
Who missed the least tackles? NZ
Who made the most line breaks ? NZ
Who made the least errors ? NZ
Who got the most turn overs ? NZ
And you wonder why we question the referee for missing a blatent foward pass, a 5 meter scrum, an advantage not played and a yellow card for a player who holds his position while a frenchman falls over (should be a footballer!!).
Eddie can you provide an example an example of an arrogant all black management leading up to this world cup??? You question why we didnt win with all the possession- please read the list above!
Didier, my pride comes from the knowledge that I would 'bleat' about the referee no matter which way the result had gone. Pride comes from knowing that when we beat fracne (average score 44-11 over the las t 10 years) I dont use the word bleat towards the supporters. Pride comes from seeing the 'arrogant' allblacks having a game of football with the other teams.
Jeremy, Paris,
For me the following 2 events were fresh in my mind when watching the All Blacks play France:
1. The All Blacks' arrogant behaviour in Cardiff last year when they performed the Haka in their changing room.
2. Their disgusting treatment of Brian O'Driscoll during the Lions tour when they weren't happy just to end his tour but couldn't even find it in themselves to say sorry to his face.
So well done France and good riddance to the All Blacks - pride really does come before a fall.
Dave Sommerville, Haverfordwest, Wales
To blame the referee is the last resort, it's the final hiding
place.
The referee did make a mistake, blatant obstruction inside
the 22 should have been a penalty try.
J Mckay, Wellington,
I can't believe the Black supporters are crying about the referee. Don't you guys have any pride ?
Didier Louvet, Paris,
The All Blacks had enough possession to win five matches and couldn't do it. It wasn't the ref and it wasn't the sinbinning they would have prepared for those things happening. The French were awesome. They defended superbly and in the second half showed the type of rugby that we are accustomed to from them. Well done to France. Hard luck to the All Blacks one has to feel a small bit sorry for them though their managment team have made that a hard thing to do with their arrogant approach. I hope someone more in tune with the wider reaches of rugby gets to coach New Zealand for the next four years. They need to restore pride in New Zealand rugby as a world force but do it in a way that once again endears All Blacks rugby to the world.
Eddie, Dublin,
The refereeing was apalling. The all blacks were definitely off form/ underdone, not as passioned etc. Potentially the lack of quality opposition leading up to france? The irony is, even the bad all blacks were the equal of the french - forward dominance, line outs, possession etc... they just weren't good enough to outweigh an appaling performances from an inexperienced referree (and touch judges who are obviously off form - such as Kaplan, who has not had a good tounament.) obvious forward passes, hands in the ruck, and blatant double standards in awarding penalties - McAlastairs sending off was ridiculous. But i agree, we should have done lots bettwerwith the possession we had.
Luca Chiaroni, Hamilton, NZ
where was the Black's ?
le floch, bordeaux, france
Northern Hemisphere ain't dead yet ! With England and France's stunning victories, those who thought that the World Cup was to be just another repeat of the triseries were proven wrong.
This is excellent for Rugby and promises a great showdown next Saturday , but in France, this time... Messieurs les Anglais, tirez les premiers !
My heart goes out to Brian Ashton however, even if I root for France, as our Laporte's sense of ethics is definitely wanting.
bertrand, Paris, France
The All Blacks were clearly rattled and definitely not in form however I find it interesting your article unlike most other match reviews fails to even mention the dubious refereeing.
The carding of McAlastair was a shocking decision resulting in a french try. The forward pass that supplied the second french try and then the blatant hands in the ruck,not playing advantage properly after calling it in the dying moments ruined the spectacle.
With all the posession the All Blacks had they should have done alot better.
CC, london,