EOYT: France vs Samoa, 24/11/2012

[Big Ewis]

^ absolutely. ARG and AUS were absolutely our very "betes noires" of the moment. And we beat the crap out of them ! ^_^
And they were both absolutely BALLIN by the time they got to France...big respect for both teams, esp. the Wallabies.

And yes it's funny but that's exactly it:
jaunard: "Would we lose it we would be come either the worst or the best team in the world !".

 

[Dougydeluxe]

Samoa played well, France did not have a great game, but were able to win, and in a way that they normally collapse around

 

[phildange]

Personally I never bought this " A win is a win" . Even if we skip the esthetical aspect of the thing, there have been many games when the loser has been put down by bad luck, say when the kicker is abysmal for instance, or some last hand clumsiness from one only guy just before the try . And, to every French soul, should I mention when the ref is a shame for rugby and humanity and deprives us from a World Cup we win .

So I can't follow yoe91 in his "YOU LOST...", for me it's not a valid proof . Up to the last 15 mn I thought Samoa could win . I've been aghast by the number of balls we lost in rucks and mauls . I never saw that from a French team, at least in the last 20 years . As always, our highly technical scrum was superior, never lost a ball and stole 3, but the French scrum barely could push strong, and that's a performance for any other team . The technical "turtles" worked too, but again they were rare .
I still don't know what to think about the French resistance in open fight against these monsters of energy : can we say it was great we didn't break, or regret they are stronger than us ? It's true they never came close to a try with their strength apart their second one . But I felt unease all over the game . In French teams, mental attitude is the only key point . This time they didn't trigger the superhuman warrior will, and it is necessary against Samoa now . But is it true ? Could the French do any better ? I'd like the answer to be yes, because if not it's really bad news, but I can't be sure .

To sum it up, Samoa lost because of the bench, because they still are inferior in collective technics for individual power is not enough by itself, and maybe because of their kicker . In these 3 points, only the second one is a good reason for France to be proud of . Samoa can be proud of everything else . ( I keep seriously angry about their brutality though, the arm strike on Mermoz and several strangling gestures are not things to be proud of ) .

Considering they were the underdogs before this game, what they achieved against a team who just blew the Aussies and dominated the Argies, a team able to master the ABs on their own pitch, I find their performance deserves a huge applause and should make any rugby fan apprehensive if his team crosses their way in the next WC .

 

[Big Ewis]

^ You've just said a lot of what I have, but I'm sure this will be taken just fine for some reason !
And I REPEAT: I hate that attitude "we won you lost" but some ppl need to be put back in their places when they push it, so I took exception as it needed to be done.

And yes of course we can do better phildange ! We sucked in the breakdowns, Michalak wasn't NEARLY as good as in the past two tests, clumsy rushed passing, Clerc and wingers and the others ready to go on the counter-attack a few times but just too rushed -> broken up play, no running no passing nothing.

Some of these things had nothing to do with the opponents' defense, it's just us. Just not the game we wanted. In a parallel universe they may beat us by a few points, but in another our offense clicks and we get better rhythm and we're off.
Samoa: played EXCELLENT for their potential they were close to 100%, fighting like animals on each ball, playing tight defense, pushing like crazy on the scrums, jumping in piling up with vigor in those mauls/rucks, etc...
A kick here could have dropped...but mostly they were way up there, focused and enraged. Their intensity was incredible.
France: You think this was 100% ??

 

[jaunard06]

Both teams were not at 100%, and on France side that performance is even more remarkable considering that the best 2011 World Cup player was not there, that Servat went into a deserved retirement (but we still miss "La Buche" IMO, he was probably one of the world's best), and what about Bonnaire...sorry guys this is not ASM bias I really mean it, that guy was our Swiss knife and we obviously miss him at breakdown.

So individually speaking since the WC I think the french team weakened and we still got the edge on 3 excellent SH teams, so for me that's an unexpected and pleasant result. If you look at the match against Samoa this was typical of the Lievremont era, where we just defend, show no flair but we take any opportunity to score and are dangerous on turnovers. The only difference being that our collective defense imrpoved a bit since the WC - but we still have a big margin, considering that Argentina's try...