France battle past spirited Fiji
MATCH REPORT: France blew an early 21-point lead to defeat Fiji by 34-21 at the Stade Atlantique in the Nations Series.
Following their fast start, racing to 21 points, Les Bleus started to miss tackles, which helped Fiji cut the lead to seven points at the break.
The Pacific Islanders’ line-out work was atrocious, winning just 69 percent of their own ball, which could’ve been the difference between winning and losing.
Fiji will likely feel that this result was the one that got away, but for France head coach Fabien Galthie, there may be more questions than answers after this performance.
*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!
France opened their account with a try by Nicolas Depoortere, assisted by his centre partner Pieter-Louis Barassi, in the fifth minute, which Tomas Ramos converted.
Referee Christophe Ridley consulted TMO Maruis Jonker for potential foul play against Fiji in the 13th minute.
The officiating panel deemed that Selestino Ravutaumada made a dangerous tackle, and the winger got sent to the sin-bin.
France scored back-to-back tries during the sin-bin period through Julien Marchand and Charles Ollivon in the 15th and 19th minutes, respectively, both of which were converted by Ramos.
Fiji closed the gap with a try by centre Kalaveti Ravouvou, who broke two tackles to run in under the posts in the 28th minute, which Simione Kuruvoli converted.
The Pacific Islanders had the last say in the first half with a try by Ravutaumada converted by Kuruvoli on the stroke of half-time to make it a seven-point game at the break.
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Fiji drew first blood in the second half when Jiuta Wainiqolo dotted down in the corner in the 43rd minute, which Kuruvoli converted to level the scores.
Ramos slotted two penalties in the 49th and 57th minutes, respectively, to restore a six-point lead heading into the final quarter of the match.
Depoortere’s brace in the 70th minute gave Les Bleus some breathing space on the scoreboard as Ramos added the extras.
Drama followed when TMO Jonker was called in to check for cynical play by Ramos.
It was determined that the fullback played the ball in an offside position following a line break by Wainiqolo, and he was sent to the sin-bin in the 78th minute.
France saw the match out, and Romain Ntamack brought an end to proceedings, much to the relief of the French supporters.
Player of the match: Rookie Oscar Jegou had a stellar performance on the defensive front, making two dominant tackles and the most tackles in the game with 19.
Scorers
For France:
Try: Depoortere 2, Marchand, Ollivon
Cons: Ramos 4
Pen: Ramos 2
For Fiji:
Tries: Ravouvou, Ravutaumada, Wainiqolo
Cons: Kuruvoli 3
Yellow cards: Selestino Ravutaumada (Fiji, 13′ – Dangerous play: high tackle), Ramos (France, 78′ – Cynical foul: Playing the ball in offside position following linebreak)
Teams
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Nicolas Depoortere, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt (captain), 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Oscar Jegou, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Charles Ollivon, 3 Regis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Thomas Laclayat, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Baptiste Jauneau, 23 Emilien Gailleton
Fiji: 15 Salesi Rayasi, 14 Selestino Ravutaumada, 13 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 10 Caleb Muntz, 9 Simione Kuruvoli, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Elia Canakaivata, 6 Pita Gus Sowakula, 5 Temo Mayanavanua, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Tevita Ikanivere (captain), 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Zuriel Togiatama, 17 Haereiti Hetet, 18 Tim Hoyt, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Kitione Salawa, 21 Sam Wye, 22 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 23 Sireli Maqala
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
