Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

France U20s credit 'crazy serenity' after overcoming another early deficit in final

France U20 celebrate. Photo by World Rugby.

It may have been Ireland who opened the scoring in the World Rugby U20 Championship final, but just like they did in the semi-final, France stormed home to take a big win.

ADVERTISEMENT

After the lead was wrestled back and forth throughout the opening 40 minutes, France came out firing in the second spell, scoring 33 unanswered points to claim their third consecutive U20 championship title.

It was another remarkable display of composure and accuracy from the young French team, who dealt with an even faster start against England in their semi-final. A 17-0 deficit with just 13 minutes played didn’t get the French team down, they instead went on to win 52-31.

Video Spacer
Video Spacer

Another 50-point performance in the final further proved the team’s quality under scoreboard pressure. Lenni Nouchi, the French captain, recognised his side’s composure as one of their great attributes.

“In the fifth or sixth minute of a match, there’s still 75 to go,” Nouchi said after the game, reflecting on another early deficit. “I think there are quite a few players who have played at a high level here, and we all know that a match is played over 80 minutes, not 10.

“We knew they were going to start strongly and I think we reacted very well, whether it was in the in-goal or on the field, we were always calm, just like against England. We were down 17-0 in the 14th minute and we remained calm. This team has a pretty crazy serenity. I think we reacted in the right way.”

Related

The captain himself crossed the chalk as France’s momentum built into an onslaught. The backrower was determined to contribute to the scoreboard after fellow loose forward Marko Gazzotti was dishing out some friendly banter in the aftermath of the semi-final.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Marko told Lenni, ‘In the semi-final, I was the finisher’. So Lenni was very angry and wanted to show him that he could score, too,” France coach Sebastien Calvet chuckled after the match.

“There are a lot of X-factor players in this team, and we can’t be champions if we don’t have a lot of X-factors. This back row is talented and complementary.

“These boys are really remarkable for their human values. Some of them work on themselves to be active in the group, to bring their own touches. And, for others, it comes naturally. Each of them, with his or her own personality, has contributed as much off the pitch as on it.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Boks Office | Episode 40 | The Steven Kitshoff Special

O2 Inside Line: All In | Episode 6 | Le Crunch

The Unexpected Journey to USA 7s Glory | Aaron Cummings | Sevens Wonders

USA vs Japan | Full Match Replay

Yokohama Canon Eagles vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

Confidence knocks and finding your people | Flo Williams | Rugby Rising Locker Room

Tackling reasons for drop-out in sport | Zainab Alema | Rugby Rising Locker Room

Jet Lag: The biggest challenge facing international sports? | The Report

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 1 hour ago
Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

It was called ‘The Curse of the Great Bambino’.

Haha, no doubt it was helped by the ridiculousness of giving away Babe fn Ruth. Why would you do such a thing, “not for things good and right” would be the answer no doubt.


This will be a very similar question Leinster have to ask themselves. Have they set in motion their own curse?

It would be enough to kill the belief of a lesser club at a venue like Dublin.

Have we segued here? I hope we have segued here to the Premiership lol

They ran for 147 metres more than the hosts on 41 fewer carries, and made 11 more tackle busts.

That’s how New Zealand teams used to be able to play, scoring tries from anywhere in their own half with very little ball, often even less than the 40% Saints had this game. It was exciting stuff.

None of which will bother Dowson and his charges.

Won’t it? Don’t they now have three must win games in the Premiership? How are they going to balance those are a Champions Cup Final.


On the game, I’m not sure I agree with the referee bottling it and putting away his whistle at the end, has that been the norm up north? In Super rugby theyve been starting to play their hands a lot more and using the TMO, which I have liked. It’s increased the accuracy of the contest but also brought back in the howlers like going back 10 phases to a knock on that wasn’t even a knock on. I just don’t understand why they can’t get it right, but that’s pretty much the same perspective placed on Cullen right?

30 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ 'For Tips, it’s never about him. It’s always about the team.' 'For Tips, it’s never about him. It’s always about the team.'
Search