France on Friday made an impressive start to their attempt to win a first Rugby World Cup as the host nation beat New Zealand 27-13 in a hot and humid tournament opener.
Roared on by a capacity crowd at the Stade de France, Thomas Ramos nervelessly kicked 17 points, while Damian Penaud and Melvyn Jaminet scored a try each.
Mark Telea touched down twice for the All Blacks and it was only after Ramos’ 74th-minute penalty that the home fans could celebrate before the rampant white-shirted France scored a final try as Jaminet grabbed Maxime Lucu’s chip.
Photo: AFP
France fought hard to prove that their tag as one of the favorites on home soil was well-deserved.
“It was important to begin well by winning even if it was not a knockout match,” France head coach Fabien Galthie said. “It was the culmination of our work before the tournament.”
For the All Blacks, it was the first time they had lost a World Cup pool match.
Photo: AFP
“In the past we’ve won all our pool games and not won the tournament,” New Zealand coach Ian Foster said. “Our goal is to win this tournament.”
It was a successful start on the field to what will be a key test of France’s organizational skills ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics, especially after the chaos that blighted last year’s UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris.
With the Olympics less than a year away, French authorities are under scrutiny to prove that they have learned from the mistakes during the soccer showpiece between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Photo: Reuters
The World Cup is widely expected to provide a feast of attacking rugby.
Before the tournament, the bookmakers could barely separate reigning champions South Africa, the world’s No. 1 side Ireland, France and the enigmatic All Blacks, although Friday’s performance will only serve to shorten the odds on France.
By a quirk of the draw made three years ago, all four have been loaded into the same half, meaning at least two will be eliminated before the semi-final stage.
That gives misfiring England, Wales and Australia hope that they could play themselves into contention before the business end of the competition late next month.
France have been runners-up three times, but came into the tournament on a wave of expectation.
They went through last year unbeaten, claiming a Six Nations Grand Slam and beating all three of their major tournament rivals, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa in the same calendar year.
On Friday, they kept their nerve as the All Blacks stayed neck-and-neck with them, before France pulled away at the end.
Captain and scrumhalf Antoine Dupont, one of rugby’s outstanding talents, said that his team were just getting going.
“We know we’re capable of doing better,” Dupont said.
About 2.5 million rugby fans are expected to attend World Cup fixtures across nine venues in France, including 600,000 from abroad.
Excitement was high with thousands of people gathered at a fan zone in the southwest rugby stronghold of Toulouse to watch the match against the All Blacks on giant screens. There were similar scenes in Paris and Marseille, while towns across the country held smaller watch parties.
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