Ce qu'il faut savoir sur le match Pays de Galles v Portugal
Dimanche dernier à Bordeaux, le Pays de Galles a échappé de justesse à une spectaculaire remontée des Fidji. C’est finalement une faute dans les dernières secondes de Semi Radradra, à deux doigts de l’en-but gallois, qui a empêché les Fidjiens de créer la première surprise de cette Coupe du Monde de Rugby, alors qu’ils étaient passés de 32-14 (à la 67e minute) à 32-26 (à la 78e).
Ce sont donc bel et bien cinq points qui reposent dans la besace des hommes de Warren Gatland avant un deuxième match de poule dont ils sont les larges favoris. En effet, le Portugal, 16e au classement mondial Capgemini (dont le Pays de Galles occupe la 8e place), est de retour pour la première fois en Coupe du Monde de Rugby depuis l’édition 2007 qui s’était déjà tenue en France.
Warren Gatland a effectué 13 changements dans son XV de départ pour faire reposer ses cadres. Il espère que son équipe aura tiré les leçons du bouillant dernier quart d’heure contre les Fidji.
HISTORIQUE
Le Portugal et le Pays de Galles ne se sont jamais affrontés dans l’ère professionnelle. Leur seule rencontre remonte à 1994. À Lisbonne, les Gallois s’étaient alors imposés 102 à 11 dans le cadre des qualifications pour la Coupe du Monde de Rugby 1995.
Il s’agissait à l’époque de la plus lourde défaite de l’histoire du Portugal. Elle a reculé au troisième rang depuis lors (0-92 contre la Roumanie en 1996 et 13-108 contre les All Blacks en 2007). Mais les Portugais ont effectué de remarquables progrès depuis lors.
MATCH MARQUANT
Il est évident qu’aucun des anciens de la RWC 2007 ne fait partie des 33 du Portugal. L’édition 2023 sera une découverte pour l’intégralité des Os Lobos. Ils ne partiront toutefois pas complètement à l’aveuglette, puisqu’ils pourront compter sur l’expérience de leur entraîneur adjoint Luis Pissarra, qui a participé à l’aventure comme joueur à l’époque.
Le score sans appel (108-13) du match de 2007 contre la Nouvelle-Zélande à Lyon peut donner l’impression d’une rencontre totalement à sens unique. Ce n’est pourtant pas le cas. Ce jour-là, le Portugal a montré une détermination sans faille en déployant un rugby parfois brillant qui ne manquait pas de faire passer quelques frissons dans les rangs de son illustre adversaire. Dans la même poule, Os Lobos pousseront les Roumains dans leurs derniers retranchements (courte défaite 14-10)… Le Pays de Galles a toutes les raisons de rester sur ses gardes.
POINT-CLÉ
Il est temps de parler du chemin parcouru par le Portugal depuis sa dernière participation à la Coupe du Monde de Rugby. Aujourd’hui, les Portugais participent au Rugby Europe Championship, où ils donnent régulièrement du fil à retordre à la Géorgie, leur prochain adversaire dans la poule C. Ce match du 23 septembre s’annonce comme un sacré duel.
Bien sûr, la tentation est grande de donner le Pays de Galles facile vainqueur à Nice, mais il n’est pas exclu que le XV du poireau tombe sur un os. Ce Portugal en pleine ascension aura à cœur de se montrer à son avantage pour son entrée dans la compétition.
LE DUEL
Dewi Lake face à Mike Tadjer. Une dizaine d’années séparent les deux talonneurs qui s’affronteront en mêlée à Nice. Lake fait partie des étoiles montantes du rugby gallois, tandis que Tadjer, qui prendra sa retraite professionnelle après la RWC 2023, restera en France pour continuer à arpenter les terrains en Fédérale 3. Le talent et la jeunesse l’emporteront-ils sur l’âge et l’expérience ? La rouerie de l’aîné prendra-t-elle le dessus sur l’enthousiasme du cadet ? Gageons que les amateurs de mêlée s’empareront de ce débat en attendant le coup d’envoi du match.
LA STAT INCROYABLE
Le Pays de Galles a établi le week-end dernier un nouveau record de plaquages en Coupe du Monde de Rugby avec la bagatelle de 252 plaquages réussis contre les Fidji à Bordeaux. Il s’agit bien évidemment du nombre le plus élevé sur cette première journée.
C’est la sixième fois dans l’histoire de la compétition qu’une équipe réalise plus de 200 plaquages dans un match. Le précédent record de 218 plaquages réussis, établi par la Géorgie contre l’Australie en 2019, a volé en éclats.
Sans surprise, les Gallois trustent les premières places du classement des plaqueurs avec le deuxième ligne Will Rowlands (27), le pilier Gareth Thomas (23) et le capitaine Jac Morgan (20).
L’ARBITRE
Karl Dickson (Angleterre). Avant de devenir arbitre, le frère aîné de l’ancien demi de mêlée anglais Lee Dickson était lui-même un demi de mêlée talentueux, qui a disputé 167 matchs en huit saisons sous les couleurs des Harlequins.
LES ÉQUIPES
PAYS DE GALLES : Leigh Halfpenny ; Louis Rees-Zammit, Mason Grady, Johnny Williams, Rio Dyer ; Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams ; Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake (capitaine), Dillon Lewis ; Christ Tshiunza, Dafydd Jenkins ; Dan Lydiate, Tommy Reffell, Taulupe Faletau
Remplaçants : Ryan Elias, Corey Domachowski, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Taine Basham, Gareth Davies, Sam Costelow, Josh Adams,
PORTUGAL : Nuno Sousa Guedes ; Vincent Pinto, José Lima, Tomás Appleton (capitaine), Rodrigo Marta ; Jerónimo Portela, Samuel Marques ; Francisco Fernandes, Mike Tadjer, Anthony Alves ; José Madeira, Steevy Cerqueira ; João Granate, Nicolas Martins, Rafael Simões
Remplaçants : David Costa, Lionel Campergue, Diogo Hasse Ferreira, Martim Belo, David Wallis, Pedro Lucas, Joris Moura, Raffaele Storti
Comments on RugbyPass
“England are set to lose some of their best ever players at the end of the season with the mass departure to France”… Really? Best ever? What a joke of an opening line. The england players leaving for France are… Sinckler, Ludlum, Tuilagi… that’s the list of players England are losing at the end of this season to France. All 3 are fringe players at best these days. Manu is the only one you could fathom debating being one of “their best ever players” and even that debate would be shut down pretty quickly. Pathetic excuse for journalism this. Not grounded in reality.
1 Go to commentsYep. The insanity of the decision of trying to outspend RL for outside backs just looks more and more stupid as time goes on and talented players either bully us into paying overs to keep them (Jorgensen) or simply leave as Uncle Nick comes calling (Nawaqanitawase).
20 Go to commentsInteresting that you pick Amatosero, John. I would agree with your choice. He could well be capped this year at some point. At only 21 years of age, he has a lot of experience at a high level from his time at Clermont. I’m surprised he did not remain there for longer, as last year he was really starting to move, with 14 games, six starts, well up from the previous year, 7 games, only 2 starts. Have liked what is doing with the Waratahs this year. Not an easy situation for any player there, with the poor results.
3 Go to commentsNed me old shinwah, it’s probably not a bad idea to learn how to spell the last names of great All Blacks wingers. (Otherwise we will demean our memories of Grant Bitty, Jonah Lima, Joe Rococo and Doug Howler.)
3 Go to commentsNo longer able to except the excuses offered up for Rob. The red jersey has lost it’s mana and become a joke. I do not wish Mr Penny any wrong but it is time to go. Do the right thing Rob and retire, PLEASE.
31 Go to commentsIt is a travesty that 8/12 teams play in the finals, and that 4 wins out of 14 might be enough to get you there, but every competition has this to some degree. If it was only the top 4 going through, then this season would have been over for 6 of the teams 4 weeks ago. Super Rugby is simply a feeder competition for the All Blacks and Wallabies. There are low stakes and no consequences because so few people care who wins Super Rugby. In football, winning the Champions League is the pinnacle for any player or fan. The fate of national teams in the world cup or Euros is a complete second fiddle to The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundelsliga etc… Same with the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB. Players and fans care deeply about their team winning NBA title, but don’t care at all about USA winning gold at the Olympics. Or more locally with Rugby League, the Hierarchy is probably NRL > State of Origin > International. For some maybe State of Origin is the top. Super Rugby is low consequence and low stakes because no one cares enough about the outcome. Players ultimately want to play for the ABs, not the Hurricanes or Blues. Casual fans aren’t talking about SR selections but everyone has an opinion on Sam Cane or Ian Foster. Super Rugby is a means to an end. The only context it has is how it effects who is selected for the ABs.
6 Go to commentsPlayoffs featuring 4 or 6 teams would mean the other teams playing meaningless games for longer and a further drop of interest in Australia. But yes a 12 team competition with 8 teams making finals is ridiculous.
6 Go to commentsJoe's picks will be more interesting than Razors. The dumping of Dave Rennie for Jones has to be one of the worst exec decisions of all time. Joe and Dave have similar styles and personalities, the players should like that. Predicting some success for Aus this year. Well more than last year!
3 Go to commentsHey Ben, Thanks for your opinion article. As a die hard rugby tragic and loyal supporter of the game can I say your article seems a touch negative so I would like to offer a slightly different spin on it. I am assuming that the sole purpose of the Super Rugby competition is not just to be a training camp for the International teams but an independent event and competition in its own right with sponsors, media companies and teams that need a financial return. Now, from this rugby fans perspective, I am enjoying the last few weeks of the competition and enjoying the fact that most teams can still make the play offs and nobody wants the wooden spoon. Most rugby followers would agree to it being a travesty if the Crusaders or the Waratahs now made it to the final but history tells us it is very unlikely with the importance of home ground advantage. Playing each team once and a four team final would give the competition integrity and a level playing field for all teams but I would be surprised if it could satisfy the financial demands of the TV rights. Maybe a six team finals series might be a possible compromise.
6 Go to commentsAll good choices John, even the Tah players ha ha. Others that might be worth a look would be ; Cale, Tom Lynagh, Uru, Keunzle, Anstee and maybe Rory Scott because we need a backup to McReight and he has improved a lot from last year and Tim Ryan.
3 Go to commentsWe only have 12 teams - and probably should only have 10. If we cut it down to 10, had a single round robin format, and only had semi-finals and a grand final, the final game would be on the first weekend of May. Meanwhile the AFL (similar to the NRL) runs until the last weekend of September and starts almost a full month after Super Rugby. At least the players would get plenty of rest!
6 Go to commentsAs article says re Japanese Final. Todd Blackadder up against his old mentor/ coach at Canterbury and the Crusaders , Robbie Deans. Both legends in this part of the world. Richie Mo’unga, ( another legend), playing brilliantly for Toddy’s team.Great to hear.
1 Go to commentsNo doubt Razor will want to kick the 2024 campaign off with a decisive selection of the top match fit players to insure his selection as the appointed coach has maximum impact. We the supporters and critics will settle for nothing less because historically it is what we have become ingrained and accustomed to. With that in mind and the distinct fall from grace of his beloved crusaders we will expect him to stamp his mark in the same way he left his old post.
9 Go to commentsI would've expected a better turn around in response to the changes within the team and its management. Lacking in my opinion is the skill sets that once was and now seemingly vacant within the squads regular front runners. Furthermore there seems to be no set game plan, the accuracy that once was is no more, the quality off the bench were poor matchups and frankly I feel a lot has to do with the coaching. Never thought i’d be critising the sadas to this degree.
5 Go to commentsAverage AB captain by recent standards. Speaks to the wider issue
9 Go to commentsWholesome lad, but no longer test level. At all
9 Go to commentsThis game was always going to be close, Canada have such a dominant pack and the Black Ferns have come unstuck in that area against teams like France and England in the past.
2 Go to commentsA distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
2 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments