Three matches, three bonus victories, including a particularly remarkable one against the “Baby Blacks”: the Blueberry World Cup in South Africa is taking place without a cloud for the moment. The double title holders (in 2018 and 2019, before the competition was interrupted due to the Covid, editor’s note), with 15 points scored out of 15 possible, have thus won the right to face for a place in the final the “best second” of the pools, England.
But beware, warns their manager Sébastien Calvet, “it will be anything but an easy match”, even if during the U20 Six Nations Tournament, France had made short work of England (42-7). “It is not the same team, nor the same staff”, underlines the captain of the Bleuets, Lenni Nouchi, according to whom the “animosity” existing between the two nations among the “big” is also in U20, from fact “that most have fathers who have played at a high level” (Léo Carbonneau, Hugo Auradou, Paul Costes…). “The English are strong in conquest, in combat,” adds Calvet. “They are capable of putting us at fault. However, everyone knows that this is a sector in which we must be vigilant.
Discipline is the only pitfall of this under-20 team, which has been impressive in terms of mastery, cohesion and ease so far, and whose beautiful game enchants its supporters, even their elders from the XV of France, gathered on an internship in Monaco to prepare “their” World Cup in the fall. The Blueberries have indeed taken two yellow cards per group match and what is more close (seven minutes apart against Japan, five against New Zealand) therefore more penalizing. Against Wales, one of the two was even converted to red, according to the new rule enacted by World rugby called “bunker”.
“It’s a deeper evil than just something to fix in competition,” admits Calvet. “We were at 17 faults on average during the Six Nations, there we are at 11. Today, we still have to progress on the no card. We managed to reduce the total number of faults but now we have to be better at not making stupid faults, due to a lack of control”. Other than that, Les Bleuets have another ‘problem’, albeit more manageable: the growing notoriety of their second line Posolo Tuilagi.
“It’s a real subject that has fueled our group life,” admits Calvet. “But his personality helped us a lot, because he is a very calm person, who is even rather embarrassed” about what is happening to him. “Posolo brings something extra to this team and I didn’t feel any jealousy from the others,” he underlines. What Lenni Nouchi confirms: “we are all happy that a Frenchman is highlighted”.
