PARIS : France suffered heartbreak at last year’s World Cup when they were knocked out by South Africa by a single point in the quarter-finals, but Saturday’s 30-29 victory against the All Blacks laid the foundations for a potentially bright future.
Les Bleus trailed 14-3 against New Zealand at the Stade de France before fighting back after the break to prevail with three tries and a perfect kicking performance from Thomas Ramos, who started again at flyhalf alongside Antoine Dupont in the absence of the injured Romain Ntamack.
“It was a special test for us. Winning by a single point reminds us of last year. One point is nothing but it can also mean a lot,” France coach Fabien Galthie said, referring to last year’s 29-28 defeat against the Springboks which ended France’s hopes of winning the World Cup on home soil.
“The scenario was awful at the beginning. But at halftime we found the solution, being better on the impact points. I’m very proud because we’ve now hosted them three times and we’ve beaten them three times (in a row).
“It gives us a lot of confidence. Even if they’re this formidable All Blacks side, they can be fragile, have weaknesses which we exploit pretty well when they come here.”
Captain Dupont, who was under immense pressure by the New Zealand defence, changed his approach, being more cautious but still ruthlessly clear sighted as France kept their composure.
“Winning against such a big team is a big confidence booster and lays the foundation for our squad. They came as a top team with top players at their peak,” the mercurial scrumhalf said.
“We knew we had the keys to turn the tables in this match and the whole team, even the newcomers, felt that. There is nothing more exciting to live these final minutes, when you know your teammate is not going to give up.”
France now need to follow up against Argentina on Friday to head into the winter break with a series slam.
New Zealand were left disappointed.
“When they have the momentum they’re pretty hard to stop,” said captain Scott Barrett, whose side will conclude their tour against Italy next Saturday.
Coach Scott Robertson added: “We were not good enough tonight. We certainly created (chances) but we did not finish (strongly) enough.”
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