On the eve of the return of the French XV against Italy (Friday 9 p.m.), after two (long) weeks of waiting, the Groupama-Stadium in Lyon welcomes another poster this Thursday to launch the final straight of the phase of chickens. In Group A of the Blues, New Zealand faces Uruguay with the objective of validating its ticket for the quarter-finals in the event of an improved success.
Very calm against Namibia (71-3) then Italy (96-17), the All Blacks intend to repeat their ranges once again against the Teros who, thanks to their success against the Namibians (36-26), do not are not yet mathematically eliminated. To hope for a quarter-final, the Uruguayan selection must win with more than 80 points difference and the offensive bonus. Suffice it to say that it’s mission impossible.
New Zealand-Uruguay (group A): 9:00 p.m. (TF1)
This Wednesday, Fabien Galthié revealed his team composition live from Lyon to face Italy. A XV without any big surprises with Charles Ollivon designated captain and Maxime Lucu at the scrum in the absence of Antoine Dupont. Still in the recovery phase, the latter was also seen, for the first time since his injury against Namibia, training with ball in hand around his partners on the pitch at Parc OL.
This Thursday, weight training session at the start of the afternoon then training to rehearse a few throws but without opposition on the eve of the match, Friday evening at Parc OL.
Composition of the French XV against Italy:
Ramos – Penaud, Fickou, Danty, Bielle-Biarrey – Jalibert (o), Lucu (m) – Ollivon (cap), Alldritt, Jelonch – Flament, Woki – Atonio, Mauvaka, BailleRemplaçants: Bourgarit, Wardi, Aldegheri, Taofifenua, Cros , Couilloud, Moefana, Jaminet
“We asked to play against teams from the top tier of the world,” said Pablo Bouza, assistant to the Argentinian coach of the Uruguayan Teros, Esteban Meneses. Here we have the opportunity. It is a chance”. For its last meeting in the competition (barring a miracle), the South American team wants to let go of the horses and regret nothing in the face of the most legendary selection in rugby which stands in its way. “We are going to play our last match of the World Cup against the All Blacks, who I consider to be the best team in the world. We have to take advantage of it, everyone dreams of it,” added team captain Andrés Vilaseca. Faced with the triple world champions (1987, 2011, 2015), Uruguay wants to benefit and above all learn.
Hit in the back just before the inaugural match against France, the third row and captain of the Blacks will experience his first start in this World Cup after 24 small disputes last week against Italy. Before challenging Ireland in the quarter-final, the most likely and expected scenario, the 31-year-old will take advantage of this meeting against Uruguay to get back into the rhythm of the competition. And give guarantees to his coach Ian Foster who is undoubtedly already planning for the future of events.
By scoring 14 tries against the Italians last Friday, the All Blacks “lost” 21 minutes and 20 seconds of potential playing time despite frequently stopping the clock, according to Opta calculations. Even if a match never lasts 80 minutes in actual playing time, it seems very long for modest opponents compared to New Zealand’s firepower. Uruguay knows its mission this evening: show a good face and limit the damage.