The French team should have led significantly at half-time against South Africa during the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup on Sunday evening. However, the Springboks had devised an excellently prepared battle plan to stay in touch with the Blues and take the score at the end of the match.

One of the recurring weak points of the French team over recent years has been the reception of kicks. Be it against Ireland in 2022, South Africans in 2022, New Zealanders in 2021, France has always struggled in this sector. Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus’s men thus methodically targeted this aspect of the game.

In addition to playing mind games with a 5-3 bench with de Klerck, Pollard, and Leroux as substitutes, South Africa experienced a maximum of success in the first half. This outrageous success (almost unexpected, we might even say), allowed the managers Pollard and de Klerck to manage their match in the second half.

Here’s how the South Africans provoked this infamous, outrageous success on their four tries.

1st try: Kurt-Lee Arendse

Video Credit: World Rugby

The French are in possession of the ball. Anthony Jelonch isolates himself from his supports and logically gets the ball stolen by the opposing scratchers.

With this recovered ball, the Boks do not play by hand, but rather opt for the kick. And for a very precise reason.

In the image, winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey makes a judgment error by staying in line instead of going into coverage. The winger from Union Bordeaux-Bègles panics, while the French are numerically superior in his wing.

Cobus Reinach sees the opportunity and kicks over. Bielle-Biarrey misses the reception, especially as a player advancing towards the ball to win his aerial duel. It is ultimately a scramble at the fall of the ball, and Kurt-Lee Arendse proves opportunistic to go score the try.

2nd try: Damian de Allende

Video Credit: World Rugby

After the very beautiful technical gesture of Jesse Kriel’s elbow, Manie Libbok kicks to the opposite wing.

This action is far from trivial, and was prepared as follows.

The moment the ball reaches its destination

In the image, we see that a block of four players is separated from Libbok, the kicker. As the French cannot split their defence in two, they are obliged to stay linked and must manage the fall of the ball in numerical inferiority. The South Africans take advantage to recover the ball again and thus cover thirty meters with the leather, which will be flattened by de Allende, who takes advantage of a mistake by Anthony Jelonch.

Unfortunately, the latter hinders Dupont in his defensive run, and furthermore leaves his inside uncovered.

3rd try: Cheslin Kolbe

Another try “given” by Les Bleus.

At first glance, this try looks like a simple recovered ball, very well managed by the South Africans.

But let’s look at what happens upstream of the action.

First, we notice the wrong choice of Grégory Alldritt, who does not release his outside ball for Bielle-Biarrey, unmarked at the end of the line.

Then, following Uini Atonio’s charge, Jelonch seems to believe that more support will be necessary. He will be missing behind during the counter. Counter possible thanks to Eben Etzebeth’s excellent chase of Dupont which makes him make a very bad pass to Cyril Baille.

The rest is the act of the South African gazelles in action.

4th try: Eben Etzebeth

Penalty played by hand by the reigning world champions.

Advantage ongoing but the Blues resist. Etzebeth, initially to the left of the ruck, sees Matthieu Jalibert under the posts and decides to go charge him.

A world-class adaptation that made the difference.

We will regret these mistakes and errors on the part of the French, even if South Africa prepared its blow and played the perfect match to beat us. With success and quite a bit of help also it must be said​​.