'They could have played like this for 2 days' - France react to Ireland defeat
France may have built their success in the 2022 Six Nations by abandoning possession and counter-punching their opponents - but their change in strategy this year has yet to pay off as their 32-19 defeat to Ireland showed.
Les Bleus were more playful than last year, when they achieved a grand slam, especially in their own half, only for Ireland to choke them and make the most of every little mistake Fabien Galthie's side made in Saturday's Dublin clash.
France's decision to try and enjoy more possession came after referees made it more difficult to snatch the ball from the rucks, and while they were disciplined, being penalised only seven times, the defending champions were bettered in every department by the world No.1 team.
"We played too much in our own half before the break," said Galthie after France's 14-match winning streak ended.
"We should have played higher. Maybe Damian Penaud's (first-half) try made us think we would score several times by attac king from our own half."
Galthie also rued some missed chances.
"It's another reason for our defeat. Our strong moments were not converted into points, those that we missed at the end of the game," he explained.
"We were in the contest until the 71st minute and if we had scored in our moments of domination it would have been different," added Galthie, who admitted that the best team had won in Dublin.
Galthie also did not dwell on a possible TMO error after James Lowe's try was awarded although some video footage showed the Irish winger's left foot had probably touched the grass outside the touchline before he grounded the ball.
"It is what it is, let's be fair," he said.
France are third before they next host Scotland, who like Ireland have won their first two games against England and Wales.
They have two weeks to recover, which will be much needed, especially for Antoine Dupont.
"He needs some care, he was exhausted. He got a knock on his stomach and needs to recuperate," said Galthie .
However, Les Bleus were not too worried.
"We don't like this feeling but it does not shake the confidence we've built over the past two years," said flyhalf Romain Ntamack after a high-octane match.
"They could have played like this for two days," he added with a smile. "There is no regret, we gave everything."
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I’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
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