France v Namibia: Five takeaways from Rugby World Cup clash as records tumble but at what cost

James While
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Damian Penaud, Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey for France.

Damian Penaud, Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey for France.

Following an emphatic 96-0 victory for France over Namibia at Stade de Marseille, here’s our five takeaways from the Rugby World Cup Pool A clash on Thursday.

The top line

An absolute statement display from France saw them rack up 96 unanswered points in a stellar display of ambition and precision in Marseille. A hat-trick for the world’s best wing Damian Penaud with braces for the returning Jonathan Danty, the brilliant Louis Bielle-Biarrey and the magnificent Charles Ollivon destroyed the part timers Namibia as France simply pressed the accelerator and sped out into the night.

The first half was dominated by the genius of Antoine Dupont and his partnership with Matthieu Jalibert – some of the rugby was quite sublime, with Dupont manufacturing cross-field tries off both feet to his wings. But the try of the half came down the right flank as Dupont and Jalibert combined with ins and outs, no look passes and incredible vision to send Ollivon over for a magnificent try.

The cost

But the cost of this win could be incalculable. Word is Dupont is on his way to hospital with a suspected fractured cheekbone after a reckless tackle from Namibian skipper Johan Deysel. If the concerns about Dupont are confirmed, Deysel may just find himself the most wanted man in France, given the public expectation of both France and their skipper.

Dupont wasn’t the only casualty. Word is Uini Atonio was withdrawn as a precaution as the tighthead suffered a slight thigh niggle, whilst utility back-row Paul Boudehent also left the field with a head injury as a result of getting his head on the wrong side of his own tackle and is sure to need the minimum HIA stand down.

The good news is that France’s returning trio of Anthony Jelonch, Cyril Baille and Danty all got through the match unscathed, with Danty in particular impressing all. But whilst the French management smiled to the press conference and assured all of Dupont’s fortitude and recovery ability, the tournament and the hosts cannot afford to lose the world game’s true superstar and there will be black clouds over Marseille until the results of the scans and the subsequent prognosis are confirmed. He is the difference between winning a World Cup and not – it really is that big.

Records everywhere

On the upside, France took a lot of records with them this evening. This is their highest win in Test rugby history, beating their 87-0 victory against the same opposition in 2007. Penaud scored for the sixth consecutive Test match, a French record, whilst Thomas Ramos became the biggest French points scorer in a season, a bar that he’s sure to raise to even greater heights in the forthcoming weeks.

Ollivon took the scoring record for a French forward as he crashed over for his 15th try in only 37 Tests. To put this in perspective, he beats the record of Imanol Harinordoquy, who scored his 13 tries in 45 more Tests. Ollivon’s record as the most prolific forward in Test rugby history now stands at a try every 2.4 Tests, a strike rate better than elite centres like Brian O’Driscoll or Ma’a Nonu, let alone back-row forwards.

Penuad scored his 35th try tonight in his 47 Tests – overtaking Vincent Clerc as number two in France’s try scoring list. He only has Serge Blanco ahead of him with 38 tries in 93 Tests and it’s pretty much a certainty that Penaud will take that crown in this World Cup cycle, a quite remarkable achievement.

What did we learn?

Namibia will have learned a lot about themselves and the biggest lesson was they can walk off with their heads held high, refusing to capitulate to an absolute blue tsunami and working their socks off all evening with a plucky display.

They might want to make a mental note to themselves that hoofing the football down the throats of the best broken field running side in the world isn’t really the best plan, but as long as they become better rugby players from this experience, their job is done. Remember, this is a team of amateurs and semi-pros drawn largely from one club, Wanderers, and some of their players endure five-hour round trips simply to train.

For France, they’ll have learned that Bielle-Biarrey is going to be a superstar. His touches this evening, one inside pass for Danty to bang over for a score and his solo try in the second half where he gassed the entire Namibian team to go 90 metres across the pitch corner to corner.

They will also know that without both Jalibert and Dupont on the pitch they have a drop off in intensity. When those two were on the pitch, France were unplayable. When they went off, they were simply only brilliant.

The week ahead

Let’s be honest, the headlines are going to go into a Dupont frenzy. France have two clear weeks off before they face Italy so realistically the great man will have 18-20 days of recovery time before the quarter-final stages. His recovery is essential and you can bet your bottom dollar every option will be explored if the worst is confirmed – from face masks to medieval witchcraft to cryo-treatment, all will be considered.

If he fails to come through, the leadership will go to Ollivon, a seasoned Test captain and Dupont’s on-pitch counsel in everything France does, so at least they’ll have continuity there. The French management will also sit on the fitness concerns on Boudehent and Atonio, not wanting to replace either and trying to extend recovery periods to the wire to ensure their fitness.

But in trying to maintain the health of their squad they simply cannot take Italy for granted and some of the big guns will need using in that Test. It may be that some are rested, but France surely must continue with a daring selection policy. Their argument may well be that this is a crap shoot and a roll of a dice as they did prior to this game, but with Italy looming, the decision to play superstars in a training run in this game may very well prove to have cost them dearly as the tournament progresses.

READ MORE: France player ratings: Speedsters fire Les Bleus to emphatic World Cup victory

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