‘The Blue Revolt’.
So declared L’Equipe, this morning, as the nation of France rejoiced in a winning Six Nations start from Guy Noves’ side.
The French newspapers were in jubilant form as they reported on victory snatched from the jaws of defeat on a sopping wet Saturday in Paris.
France – its supporters, reporters and players – were not at all confident going into yesterday’s match but they made all the running in the second half of a turgid game and deserved the win. Through their late try, and a series of borderline hits, they left Ireland in a heap.
The tone of most of the reports, and opinion pieces, is one of praise for the victors. The Irish, as a collective and individual players, barely feature.
The paper focuses on ‘Seven Minutes that Forced Destiny’. That is, the period of time where France had Ireland completely under the cosh.
Three crucial plays are covered – the decision to kick for touch off a penalty, Damien Chouly being denied a try by the TMO and Maxime Medard scoring a try after four fierce scrums from Les Bleus.
One of the most interesting features from L’Equipe’s seven-page spread on the game goes under ‘Un mur infranchissable’ [The Impenetrable Wall].
The French defence is lauded after they made 94% of their tackles [97 from 103 attempted], did not allow a single line break and kept Ireland from scoring a try. Of course, Irish fans and pundits may put that down to a lack of invention from the men in green.
Le Journal de Dimanche hails the 44th minute introduction of French props Rabah Slimani and Eddy Ben Arous in a lead article entitled ‘Starting in the Right Direction’.
The front row change saw France turned the scrummaging screw on their opponents. There is reason for optimism in France – they are in with a good shout of a first championship win in six years and already look far removed from the rabble torn asunder by Ireland and New Zealand at the Word Cup.
There is a Le Parisien interview with Stade Francais outhalf Jules Plisson under the headline ‘On commence á grandir’ [It’s Starting to Click].
That is apparently what France captain Guilhelm Guirado told Plisson, and his fellow teammates, as he gathered them in for a huddle after their 10-9 win.
‘The Blues are Back’ declares Le Parisien’s front page.
A nation back in love with their rugby team, and not a day too soon.
