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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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“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.”

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EllenMoody 3 hours ago
Great moments in Lions tour history – JPR’s drop goal and the All Blacks' brutal revenge

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JWH 4 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

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