The chorus of "Allez les Bleus" was more a sign of relief than excitement, and the team played down in the trenches rather than in the open fields, but a win is a win...
Both teams looked like viable contenders as the clock ticked down to this tournament. Laporte had gone through his combinations during the 6 Nations, tinkering in that scholarly fashion of his with back row combinations, half backs, back threes. He had enviable strength in depth (could ANY of the Home Nations afford to keep an athelete like Nyanga on the bench ?) and the team was able to play in a variety of ways.
Then came the opening match, where they were mauled by the Pumas. In truth, I suspect, Graham Henry had already holed them below the waterline in the "warm up" matches. A point (or 50) had been made, and the French were rocked on their heels. So when the Puma forwards tore in to them, disrupting the flow of possession, then put up a stream of up and unders to break up the game, the frayed French nerves snapped.
Similarly, the Irish played nervously. Their form had been poor going in to last night's game. Again, here was a team coached with this tournament in mind. Unlike Laporte, Sullivan had a settled side, a balanced team of artists and artisans. But last night they played tetchy, error strewn rugby. perhaps the reports in L'Equipe had led to a loss of focus - those intense blue eyes of O'Gara lacked the usual steely glint. Perhaps too much red mist. He certainly looked incapable of striking the ball with anything approaching his usual accuracy.
And one last thought.
I think it's a shame that much of the commentary and post match analysis revolved around Chris White, the referee. Folks might say that professional rugby players shouldn't need "sympathetic" refereeing, but surely the whistle shouldn't be allowed to drown out the combined voices of all those good people trying to belt out choruses of "La Marsailleise" and "Alive Alive Oh!" ?
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