Another: Louis Picamoles
France followed up last weekend's drubbing of Australia with another convincing display as they beat Argentina 39-22 in Lille on Saturday.
With England, Wales, Scotland and Italy losing to southern opposition this weekend - Ireland were playing in a non-cap international - the French confirmed their status as the top European team in the world rankings.
France led 24-13 at the end of an action-packed first-half that saw the momentum and the lead swing back and forth.
Argentina were 13-3 head after 15 minutes but two Vincent Clerc tries in the space of two minutes handed the initiative back to the hosts, who went into the interval with their tails up after Yannick Nyanga added a third try just before the break.
The second period proved much tighter with Fred Michalak's boot securing the win.
France showed their intentions to get the ball wide at pace early on and Michalak could have opened the scoring from the kicking tee when the Pumas were caught offside.
But the visitors were first to cross the whitewash after a brilliant break in midfield that saw Nicolas Sanchez and Gonzalo Tiesi switch the angle of attack twice before putting Marcelo Bosch away to score under the posts.
Sanchez added two more penalties to stretch the lead to ten points and the Pumas were looking dangerous as they regularly broke up the centre of the field, just like they did against Wales a week ago.
Les Bleus would have the better of the second quarter though with Louis Picamoles once again at the heart of their forward momentum. The big number eight and Pascal Papé combined to send Maxime Machenaud down the touchline, the scrum-half threw a wild pass inside but Clerc could pick it up to score.
Moments later Florian Fritz's neat chip ahead sat up perfectly for the racing Clerc and the wing could sprint home.
Off the back of a French maul, Nyanga handed off two defenders before using his pace to bolt home for a brilliant solo try and give the hosts an 11-point lead at half time.
The second half was more of a dog fight as Sanchez and Michalak traded penalties and drop-goals to leave the status quo with 15 minutes left.
The French fly-half broke the pattern in the dying minutes however as the Pumas ran out of steam, adding two more penalties to secure the win.
Man of the match: Plenty of candidates with the French back-row looking particularly good. We'll go for Yannick Nyanga whose blistering pace earned him a try, but he put in plenty of hard graft too.
Moment of the match: France never looked back after Clerc's second try.
Villain of the match: A few handbags emerged, but nothing too rough.
The scorers:
For France:
Tries: Clerc 2, Nyanga
Cons: Michalak 3
Pens: Michalak 5
Drop: Michalak
For Argentina:
Try: Bosch
Con: Sanchez
Pens: Sanchez 4
Drop: Sanchez
France: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Wesley Fofana, 13 Florian Fritz , 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Yoann Huget.
Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Marcelo Bosch, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Julio Farias Cabello, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Tomas De la Vega, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Gonzalo Camacho, 23 Joaquin Tuculet.
Venue: Stade Lille Metropole
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Comments
new_j4a says...
@bambo, yes agreed with your "dogged but equally impressive second half?" It certainly made nonsense of my prediction that France would lose if it turned into an arm wrestle....but then my prediction that France would need to take an early lead and get their tails up was totally invalidated by the champagne rugby in the first half.
Posted 07:36 21st November 2012
bothhands says...
@Toulousain
I am from Dublin, Ireland, Northern Hemisphere. Devastated that you consider me a "troll".
Posted 03:44 21st November 2012
Bambo says...
Rosbif - Quite agree. Samoa remain a test - will les bleus rest complacently on these two games or is there a hard headed determination to seize every game like they did those last two? I hope they've become hard headed, I really do. Such great potential so often fallen short.
Interesting too see that V Clerc has now, courtesy of last weekend, outscored P Saint Andre. A sign of the playing style that will mark the years ahead?
new_j4a - I agree with all your comments here (this post) but surely only a sublime first half that gave way to a dogged but equally impressive second half?
Posted 22:18 20th November 2012
lacroix says...
having now reviewed the game several times (taped it on espn , best i can do here in london) i can confirm that the champagne, chablis and potensac have been flowing freely at chateau lacroix . the atmosphere live was fantastic..not often i say that about that venue :)
Posted 20:55 20th November 2012
new_j4a says...
@Toulousain...I got it live!!! I streamed it live over the web....the picture was not perfect, but the rugby was sublime! This is what we need....a team that can challenge the great All Blacks. Now I have bitTorrented the match for the archive and can play it back and forward.....and yes I think that Steve Walsh is becoming a first class ref.
Well done France....this is going to be a very interesting period with France having the potential to rise above the Boks and Oz and become the real challenger to the ABs
Posted 23:03 19th November 2012
Lucasrg says...
Very good game! 1st half was pure bliss to watch. It's been years since I've seen such asolid France performance! Tres Bien!!!
Machenoud is really a great revelation, great tempo. Dulin too did very well. Pumas did well but lost verve the secoind half, but mostly because France brillancy.
Great game.
Posted 13:34 19th November 2012
Toulousain says...
@new_j4a, wherever you are, maybe you didn't see the match because I hear it was not even shown on the anglo-saxon tv channels (!?!?!), but rest assured the champagne was flowing in our house last night!!
I wanted the game to be decided by a moment of skill, or determination, and not by the referee or a silly mistake. I am happy to report that it was! Nyanga's moment of brilliance was a sight to behold. And S Walsh had a very decent showing too I thought.
I apologise to the French bloggers here for not attempting to analyse the game any further, and instead just flirting with new-j4a. But, if I may flatter a little, I feel you have all done an intelligent job. Makes such a change to read considered views with no trolls.
(then again, the SH may be waking up soon and joining the party - just watch out for kitch, safehands, bothhands, and the other usual suspects. I find myself more drawn to golden_statenba, isthatrightref, sandal, 7ton and the other grown-ups!)
Posted 21:12 18th November 2012
NHsaints says...
And suddenly we are reminded why France are the best Northern Hemisphere team. I wouldn't be surprised if they're second in the world by the next world cup. Also on a side note...France seem to have 10 times the depth of any other squad in the world, I mean what side can replace Dusatoir and Medard with little to no trouble and still get two great wins like that?
Posted 13:15 18th November 2012
Rosbif says...
Thanks everyone for their comments. Always a pleasure to read these pages.
Wow! What intensity in those first 30 minutes!! Both sides really came to play. As others said, old Fra teams would have buckled at 3-13, especially with the apparent simplicity of the Pumas first try. Maybe it is worth saying also that old Pumas teams might have played 10 man rugby after leaking 3 tries so quickly. But they didn't. They kept playing with intelligence. Field position. Finding the weakness. Not making mistakes. They never let Fra get away on the scoreboard or feel comfortable in the game. Bravo to both teams and both sets of coaches!
Looking at Fra, I think we are begining to see the emergence of a game plan suited to the group. With two 9s in the team we can get width quickly, especially from turnovers and kick return. With two lightweight 7s we can link play or cover in defence and slow opposition ball. Meanwhile, 1-5 are able to "hit" opponents in tackles, either round the corner, or in midfield, to stop momentum early. We seem to (deliberately?) not find touch from kicks, and with few knock-ons we end up with very high "ball in play" statistics. It seems our two autumn opponents became tired or "ran out of ideas". Meanwhile, on attack, we have 8 and 13 to punch holes, and have been quick to capitalise on line breaks, with good offloads and tempo behind the defensive line. Finally, and maybe most importantly, the mentality and desire to work for each other is good. Everyone seems patient and confident the game plan works. So we don't give away pens.
But it can all change in one match. We never seem to play well vs PI teams. In the past we have fallen of tackles and given away yards at the gain line. One big final test awaits against Samoa. Let's hope the players are not reading their own press this week and continue to be humble.
:-)
Posted 12:39 18th November 2012
TRIPERO says...
I would say we saw the best rugby (really fast and cleaver) and a litte nervous Pumas (fare away from any plan or stregy) for time enough for the three deep Blues hits.
The match was very similar to the ABs vs Pumas played in La Plata, Argentina.
Despite our progress we can?t deal with the big ones in theirs best version yet, but does it seems we have the basses to work on it.
CAMON PUMAS!!!
Posted 12:26 18th November 2012
mlbp says...
@gauca
While I was watching the game I was thinking exactly that. How can you drop Ouedraogo or Nyanga and bring on Harinordoquy or Dusautoir? Can Buttin or Medard take Dulin's place?
I was positively surprised that France were able to front up with a pack that was a lot lighter than the monster packs that you see in other teams (900+ kilos, and the French "only" 845). Ouedraogo was a monster in the lineout and tackling and what can you say about Nyanga that hasn't been already said? Hari could bring on more driving and perhaps better work in defensive restarts (but that's Picamoles's job now). Dusautoir is the best tackler and defensively he has no match but he lacks Nyanga's pace and has no use in winning lineouts. France's backrows were always great with flying flankers like Magne and Cabannes and Nyanga is like them but even faster.
Michalak was superb in defence. Quade Cooper could well learn from him. How many tackles did he make? Trinh-Duc doesn't have his tactical nous but is more physical, maybe more a 12 than a 10, but he comes in handy when you need a fly half that can break the line in full speed (there are few that can do it as well as he does). I never liked Parra much, he tends to slow the tempo of the matches unless he's surrounded by a a bunch of fast players, but he never seems to up the tempo of the game on his own. Machenaud was outstanding, though he made a blunder early on when he failed to collect a high kick. I definitely can't see Parra as a 10. I'd prefer Trinh-Duc to him, but he can kick and Trinh-Duc can't.
What about the centre combination? Fritz kicks well and defends superbly. Mermoz had a cracking match. Fofana finds the gaps better than anybody else, I'd love to see a specialist winger as 14. The French seem to be spoilt for choice. Sport depends on the moment's spirits. France are in high spirits at the time. 6N favourites? You bet!
Posted 11:42 18th November 2012
melkdave says...
Well done Fance,definatly the inform NH team atm,consistant ,and a exciting blend of players .Who actually look like they are enjoying themselves,and want toplay rugby.That was a hard fought mach,and at times was an arm wrestle But again good french defence ,and natural flair ,and at times just sheer bloody determination ,saw France home to a deserved victory.
Posted 11:11 18th November 2012
J_Hdk says...
Amazing quality from France. Can't see any other team winning 6nations in 2013.
But ... First scrum at 37 minutes was solely due to referee ignoring numerous knock ons and forward passes throughout the game.
Posted 10:36 18th November 2012
Iyhel says...
What a match! The first half will probably remain in the top ten of my best ever rugby moments!
Congrats to both team, great spirit and interesting skills. Maybe with the tactical nous of a Contepomi this would have been a different story.
Oh, and overall, proper refeering.
Now that is where we French fans start wondering: where is the trap? Beware, Mr Saint-Andr?setting such high expectations in our country is dangerous...
The serie in New Zealand is gonna be very intersting - provided that our players don't go down under half dead following an exhausting home championship.
By the way, who cares about being in the first or the second hat for the seedlings? We'll still have to play either Wales, England, Argentina or Ireland, not exactly pushovers, and with a 'third' team like Scotland or Samoa, no pool is gonna be easy.
Posted 09:59 18th November 2012
gauca says...
@mlbp
As ever you are very insightful, you pretty such discussed everything I was going to post! The predetermined subs I do not understand. if you are winning and not otherwise struggling in any key aspect then why??
One interesting thing for us to debate is what this squad would look like with a few returning veterans in their too. I'm thinking Medard, Dusautoir, Harinordaquuy,
Fickou could be involved during the 6 nations etc etc etc just as the most obvious examples. Would the likes of Ouedraego or Dulin who have done well deserve to be overlooked or benched for the Medard's of this world?
Also what are peoples opinions of the 9/10 combo? Effective as it has been do we therefore need to keep both Parra and Trin-Duc on bench? I would say Parra can cover 9 and 10 so if not starting needs to be in squad as cover. TD I don't see as a more effective 10 than Michalak or even Parra so where does he fit in now if at all?
Long and short of it I am interested in seeing where people think we could strengthen a 23 thats proving to be successful? And who misses out when 'first choice' players return?
Posted 09:37 18th November 2012
paco1710 says...
What a France! And I am a pumas fan! Congratulations. A wonderful display, the only team that as today could compete against nz.
great first half, boring second; all in all a great night of rugby. till next tour then!
Posted 06:17 18th November 2012
Patagon says...
Congratulations to Les Bleus! Well played, lots of intensity.
A little disappointed because Pumas let in two tries in two minutes. Also lost too much possession by too much aimless kicking .. what for? Either they got too tired to run the ball or run out of ideas.
The positives: I am happy with Nicolas Sanchez kicking penalties, conversions and drop goals. In the recent past, we throw away crucial - and I mean crucial - chances in the RWC (against England) and RC Tournament because of that. So, I hope he keeps improving.
On the whole, Pumas didn't play a good test match. They lacked a cool head after those very intense first 20 minutes. Perhaps someone like Hernandez, a bit of a strategist at pivotal moments of the game, for better decision making. I thought we made bad decisions and lost out. I repeat, two tries in two minutes.
We have a lot to learn. As always, a very good effort by everyone, makes us so proud to see them play. Come on Pumas, keep a cool head (and full of oxygen), and warm feet!!!
France, still not the finished article but I am sure they will be. They should get the fourth spot in the draw for the WC 2015. Felicitations!
Posted 00:55 18th November 2012
Vonvon says...
Hehe The roosters ate the Pumas. Scr... the food chain.
Posted 23:40 17th November 2012
porridge_time says...
France do look good and the only real threat from the NH.
Posted 23:39 17th November 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
Ouch! watch out folks, France are taking rugby seriously again.
Posted 23:31 17th November 2012