Opponent of the Blues, Saturday, for the first November test of the XV of France, South Africa essentially brings back bad memories to French supporters. Two bruises are in everyone’s mind: the World Cup semi-final lost in Durban in 1995 under torrents of rain and the fatal quarter-final for the Blues during the last World Cup.
But for Vincent Moscato, the most painful memory is undoubtedly the defeat conceded at the Stade de France two years ago. “2023 is awful. You’re at home, you have an incredible team to be world champion. We’re not lucky: we hurt Dupont, Ntamack doesn’t make the World Cup. We have everything against us”he confided to the microphone of RMC.
And for the former front row, the Blues also had Ben O’Keeffe, the referee of the match, against them. The fault lies in several controversial decisions, which had provoked indignation in the French ranks. “I don’t want to be the bitter person who complains about the refereeing because he lost the match but I’m not sure that the refereeing was up to the challenge”did not hesitate to launch Antoine Dupont at the end of the meeting.
“A cheat that is terrible”
“There’s this Etzebeth thing. I would like someone to explain to me that there is no way forward. You can explain it to me all my life, for me, there is cheating which is terrible, Vincent Moscato was indignant about the arbitration. We have to score a try and get him a yellow card. At the exit, there is nothing whistled. Everything is bad. At the end, there is a gross foul by the South Africans which is not called. That seems like a big carrot. »
But for the players of the XV of France, the page has turned. “I think we are no longer in revenge mode, we are more focused on our objective which is focused on 2027, Louis Bielle-Biarrey recently explained. This match is quite a challenge, a big challenge, we welcome the double world champions at home, the winners of the Rugby Championship. It’s our first match of the season, our back-to-school match, we know that they already have quite a few matches in their legs. It’s just a hell of a challenge and it’s a good match for our build towards the 2027 World Cup.”
