Hard blow for the XV of France. After a quick try by the All Blacks at the very start of the match, Fabien Galthié’s team lost its hooker Julien Marchand this Friday, during the opening match of the World Cup against New Zealand. Visibly injured in the left thigh, he had to leave the field after 12 minutes of play. In tears on the bench, the Toulouse native was replaced by his club teammate Peato Mauvaka.
Marchand, key player of the Blues, had his head in his hands while he was being examined by health manager Bruno Boussagol. Fabien Galthié’s men were trailing 5-3 when Marchand left after a try scored in the 2nd minute by New Zealander Mark Telea, and a penalty scored by French full-back Thomas Ramos. The first echoes are not reassuring: doctors fear hyperextension of the left knee, with the ligaments potentially affected. The competition may have stopped right away for the Toulouse hooker…
Questioned at a press conference after the meeting, Fabien Galthié mentioned a “tear following hyper-extension on a scratch. I can’t say more. Julien preferred to go out, he was too weak. But we can imagine a hamstring problem.”