In a match-deciding choice, referee Alain Rolland sent off Welsh skipper and no. 7 Sam Warburton for a spear tackle in the first half. He essentially decided who would be promoted to the RWC final.
The French won the match 9–8 but were outplayed by a 14-man Welsh outfit that rose to the occasion magnificently, just failing by a whisker to progress. It would have been poetic justice had the Boyos won but on this occasion Dylan Thomas’s spirit wasn’t quite enough.
There were eerie similarities between the French win tonight and the Wallabies’ defeat of the Springboks last weekend. Both were contentious, a little undeserved and with an element of luck.
France only had 40% of the territory and 41% possession but their defence was remarquable, making 126 tackles to the Welsh’s 56.
Le backrow de France — Bonnaire, Dussatoir and Harry Dorky — were quelle magnifique! Having your opposite no. 7 being given le arse obviously helped their cause at the breakdown.
It was ça plane pour moi (merde, ‘plain sailing’ for you Anglais speakers) for Plastic Rolland until the 18th minute in the first half. Sam Warburton tackled French winger Vincent Clerc, lifting him above the vertical and back/neck-slammed him into the dirt.
Vincent (pronounced Vuncunt in French — actually, that’s a soft c) is fairly petit in rugby terms and easy to lift. You can see in the slo-mo that Warburton let him go as he came down and didn’t control the dump. Unlike us, the ref doesn’t have the benefit of slo-mo. I thought it looked a bit ugly and was anticipating a yellow for his efforts.
In a game of this importance, you’d expect Alain to consult with Messrs Kaplan and Barnes from the Touchie Dept about what to do with this nefarious chap. That didn’t happen. Rolly was out with the rouge as quick as a rat up a drainpipe and a clearly perplexed and sorry-until-my-dying-day (and he will be) Warburton trudged off.
The opprobrium dumped on Bryce Lawrence from South Africans this week has been intense. This won’t be a patch on what M’sieur Rolland will be receiving from the Valleys, to be sure.
Welsh/Irish relations will be colder than the Brecon Beacons and if you thought Mrs Thatcher was unpopular in Caerphilly, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet….
Cymru could have won this match with the 14 men left on the park. That they didn’t was entirely their own fault. They had a number of chances to pull ahead of the French at the back end of the game. However, their goal-kicking (including drop goal attempts) was abysmal — one from seven.
Scrum-half Mike Phillips scored the only try of the match at the 60 minute mark. Stephen Jones, who had subbed James Hook, missed the bread and butter conversion which would have given them the lead. Pressure eh?
Leigh Halfpenny took a 50-metre penalty shot at the 75th minute. The kick was a beauty but just dipped under the crossbar by about a metre or so.
Tactically, both the French and Welsh played percentage rugby with loads of kicking. I thought this was a mistake by the Welsh who should have played expansively after Phillips’s try. They spent a bit of time attacking in the French quarter but turned over the ball on virtually every occasion.
The Welsh also didn’t help themselves with a poor lineout (losing five throws), sub-standard kicking game and a lack of kick-chasers.
Adam Jones went off injured early in the piece. His loss and Warburton’s demise contributed to the lineout woes and a very wobbly scrum, which on attack had no. 12 Jamie Roberts packing on the side in lieu of the departed captain.
The French played semi-final rugby with Dmitri Yachvilli and Morgan Parra controlling things in the halves. Parra kicked three penalties to give the French a winning lead.
As mentioned, the loose forwards were terrific with Bonnaire probably the pick. Their lineout was commanding (winning five Welsh throws) and the scrum dominant.
Coach Lièvremont made good use of his reserve bench to keep fresh legs on the field. William Servat was one who was hooked early but had a very impressive workrate in that first half.
Maxime Médard was a rock at fullback, taking many of the high balls and returning in kind — he was safe as houses.
France had bon chance in this match, helped by injuries and send-offs. It should have been easier than how it ended up. They were unconvincing but you’ve got to give them credit for achieving what 17 other teams haven’t. If they can recoup their form from last week they’ll be formidable opponents in the final.
