France 46-19 Canada
Carl Kinsella
After the glory of Ireland’s victory yesterday, it’s likely that many will forget that there’s still a World Cup to be played.
Nevertheless, one of the favourites for the title lined up this morning in McLean Park in Napier. France had a new look side from that which faced Japan last week, with Millo-Chluski, Ducalcon, Mermoz and Picamoles all supplementing the XV of the first game.
It was a changed side underneath the same sky, which was still, simply, bucketing down. It was the difficult conditions that granted France their opening try. Trinh-Duc lofted a ball up into the sky and Canadian Pritchard couldn’t get a grip on it, knocking it into the path of Clerc, for his second try of the tournament which was easily converted by Parra, who had stepped in for Dimitri Yachvili. But this was not a great start from France – it was a great response.
Canada took the game to France from the off, just as Japan had previously, going 3-0 up before Clerc claimed the lead for France. But the Europeans suffered yet another setback – a try much in the same vein as they had just scored. Again the ball touched the sky before coming down through the arms of Traille, and Smith gave Pritchard a chance to make it two kicks from two, which he gladly did – putting Canada top of the group for the time being, with no signs of stopping. Another missed penalty and failed drop goal attempt followed, and there McLean Park could sense more to come from Canada (who had edged past Tonga earlier on this week).
But it was time for the rough and tumble to ensue. Much like against Japan, the French side were imbued with pride and riddled with frustration. A seven-phase attack culminated in Parra being entrusted with the easy task of levelling the score with a penalty, fifteen yards out from the posts, and level the score he did. Twenty-five minutes in and neither side were playing badly.
Moments of inspiration from Trinh-Duc, and Kleeberger kept both sides driving at each other but both sides remained level on the pitch which was reflected to a tee on the scoreboard, as well solid kicking from Canadian scrum-half Fairhurst.
For all the good play, it was a foul that gave France the lead for the first time since the opening ten minutes. Parra again put it between the sticks, not once, but twice, but three times before the Lievremont’s men went in at half time – up by nine points thanks to Morgan Parra, who had hit five from five.
After the battery that came at the end of a solid first half, Canada came out looking happy, looking confident, and ready to take on Les Bleus – and it was two wonderful drop goals from fly-half Munro that dragged Canada back to within six points of France, as Parra penalised yet another foul by Canadian full-back Marshall. It took until Parra’s seventh attempt at goal for his perfect kicking record to disappear, though his six-in-a-row was a first for this World Cup.
Tempers began to flare, with a late check on Vincent Clerc from Pritchard seeing him sent over the advertising hoarding, Vincent Clerc showing himself to be the Nani of Rugby Union.
Trinh-Duc kicked the penalty into touch, tellingly. France were going for the try, not the three-points. Canada battled hard in the scrum and turned the play over, pushing France back a good ten yards with a clearance kick. Yet, after all the scrimmaging and battle-hardy play by O’ Toole and Kleeberger, France eventually had to settle for the three points – Trinh-Duc with the drop-goal, to make it 25-16.
This did nothing to diminish the fighting spirit of Canada’s finest, Pritchard cutting the deficit to six points, less than one converted try. Enter the appropriately named Damien Traille (pronounced: ‘Try’. Yeow). The French full-back proved himself to be a JCB bulldozer with pace, cutting through the Canadian defence and getting from out wide to right between the posts, giving Parra yet another easy conversion.
It was now up to Julien Pierre and Aurelien Rougerie to make sure the swathes of responding Canadian players couldn’t break over the try-line for their first try since the eighth minute of the tie. A strong challenge from Bonnaire put substitute Dala into touch and saw off the danger, France leading 32-19 with nine minutes remaining, against a team that was theirs for the breaking.
Much like the Japan game, all it took was Canadian work ethic to disrupt the Les Bleus flow until very late, when Vincent Clerc added the penultimate insult to the Canadian performance, after a lovely looping pass from Dimitri Yachvili. France then showed quick hands to release Vincent Clerc for his hat-trick, as France found fifth gear in the second half, leaving it late again to show their quality. Parra’s ninth kick from ten capped the best kicking display of the World Cup so far, a dividing factor between France and Canada.
A Canadian game of mistakes, miskicks and fouls totally negated their hard work – as the incisive and clinical French side seized on every chance they got. As has been said, France have a habit of turning the screw late on against the minnows. They finally found fifth gear today – they might need a sixth for their game against the All-Blacks.
