|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Great day for Europe France beats New Zealand 42-33 to draw series
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) -- France produced an heroic performance to tame New Zealand 42-33 and avoid a third consecutive defeat against a southern hemisphere nation on Saturday. After losses to Australia and New Zealand in the previous two weekends, the French rallied to repeat their victory over the All Blacks in last year's World Cup semifinal and to level the series between the sides at 1-1. In a tense match marred by several brawls, flyhalf Christophe Lamaison produced a faultless personal performance in scoring 27 points. The French, who were keen to erase memories of their two recent setbacks at the Stade de France, made a dream start in scoring tries through wing Xavier Garbajosa and flanker Olivier Magne to take a 17-0 commanding lead after just 10 minutes. But the hosts slowly faded physically as the All Blacks moved up a gear and scored three tries before the break through scrumhalf Justin Marshall, winger Doug Howlett and substitute prop Gordon Slater to reach the halftime break only two points down at 26-24. "The first 20 minutes were the most intense of a rugby union match," said New Zealand coach Wayne Smith. As they did against Australia and against the Kiwis last week, France showed some tactical weaknesses, and the visitors went in front through an Andrew Mehrtens penalty in the 42nd minute. The Kiwis playmaker piled up 18 points, but it was not enough to hold off a late charge from the French, who scored a third try through Fabien Galthie after an hour while the inspirational Lamaison added two drop goals. Significant dayThe French had to struggle until the final whistle to hold out the New Zealanders, but they received a standing ovation from the crowd in Marseille, a city considered the capital of French soccer. "It was one the hardest games we ever played," said French captain Fabien Pelous. "The end of the match was particularly hard, and I want to thank the fans who came here because at one stage we had the feeling we were more than 15 men on the pitch." The New Zealanders were disappointed at not being able to repeat their first test triumph. "Starting 17 points down was really tough, even if we had the mental strength to fight back," said Smith. "We kept making mistakes, maybe because they kept putting the pressure on us. "We must be clear, the French deserved to win. The crowd carried them all the way along. The French were just too good in the end." The All Blacks suffered their second defeat in their last three games against the French and Smith, who did not want to look for excuses, admitted a drawn series would not please the fans at home. The French saved their pride and partly salvaged a start to the season that did not fully match the expectations of coach Bernard Laporte. "It's one of the greatest wins since I took over," said Laporte. "But it's primarily the victory of the players and we must not be too arrogant. "Even if we won tonight we suffered physically. The All Blacks are still a great team. And they are still one step ahead of us. We can play at our best for 20 minutes and we can be in the hole for the following 20 minutes." The French captain said his players still made too many mistakes. "Last week we gave the victory away to the All Blacks. Tonight we were more patient and we mastered our game -- but we still have so much to do," said Pelous. "A great team can't be good one day and awful another day," he added. "We won a game but we are far from being the best side of the world." Beyond the French success, November 18 will remain as a great day for European rugby since England also beat world champion Australia at Twickenham. "England beat the Australians, and we lost here. Today was a significant day for the Northern Hemisphere," said Smith. Teams: France - 15-Jean-Luc Sadourny; 14-Philippe Bernat-Salles, 13-Franck Comba, 12-Richard Dourthe, 11-Xavier Garbajosa; 10-Christophe Lamaison, 9-Fabien Galthie (21-Philippe Carbonneau 70); 8-Christophe Juillet, 7-Olivier Magne, 6-Christophe Moni (19-Serge Betsen 68), 5-Fabien Pelous (captain), 4-David Auradou (18-Olivier Brouzet, 52), 3-Pieter De Villiers, 2-Fabrice Landreau (16-Olivier Azam 78), 1-Sylvain Marconnet (17-Christian Califano 52) New Zealand - 15-Christian Cullen; 14-Doug Howlett, 13-Tana Umaga, 12-Daryl Gibson, 11-Bruce Reihana; 10-Andrew Mehrtens, 9-Justin Marshall; 8-Ron Cribb, 7-Scott Robertson, 6-Reuben Thorne (19-Taine Randell 51), 5-Norm Maxwell, 4-Todd Blackadder (captain), 3-Greg Somerville (17-Gordon Slater 37), 2-Anton Oliver, 1-Greg Feek. Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa).
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
