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‘In the deep end’: What it’s like to play in front of a French rugby crowd

France's scrum-half Antoine Dupont (L) leads his players in the national anthem ahead of the pre-World Cup rugby union international Test match between France and Australia at Stade de France in Saint Denis, on the outskirts of Paris on August 27, 2023. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP) (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)

The Wallabies were thrown into the “deep end” last weekend when they came up against Les Bleus in their final Test before the Rugby World Cup on French soil.

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Playing in front of a sensational crowd of more than 80,000, Les Bleus brought their trademark French flair to the Test as they ran away with a convincing 41-17 win at Stade de France.

France brought their A-game to that match, and the fans did as well. The vibrant French crowd were signing and cheering an hour before kick-off and carried that passion long into the night.

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The atmosphere was truly special, and as coach Eddie Jones said, it sets the stage for the “World Cup that no one will forget.”

“You come to this game today, which for both teams is a game to get ready for the World Cup,” Jones said after the Test.

“You’ve got 80,000 people, you’ve got a fantastic atmosphere. This could be the World Cup that no one will ever forget.”

The Wallabies were clearly impressed, too, with young flanker Tom Hooper sharing a hilarious story about debutant Issak Fines-Leleiwasa.

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Fines-Leleiwasa, 27, entered the fray of Test rugby for the first time last weekend. This journalist watched the halfback emerge from the tunnel during the Wallabies’ pre-match warmup, and the Wallaby began to soak up the crowd.

The crowd was by no means quiet, but they hadn’t yet reached full voice. But then, almost suddenly, captain Antoine Dupont made his way out onto the ground 40 minutes before kick-off – and his French teammates followed.

“What better way to prepare yourself, to throw yourselves in the deep end and see if you can swim. We got chucked in there with 80,000 people,” Hooper told reporters earlier this week.

“Apparently Finesy got out there and he was like, ‘Geese they’re pretty quiet,’ and then he heard the French team run out and he went, ‘Oh there it is.’

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“The roar came up and it was a great atmosphere. It prepares us well.”

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M
Mzilikazi 1 hour ago
Western Force and ACT Brumbies looking for signs of progress in Super Rugby Pacific

It’s good to be at the start of the season, to be tipping the games again. Thanks for the article Brett. An interesting and, for me, informative read, as I have not kept up with all the news of all the teams, really only Qld.


Whatever happens in the search for a new coach for the WB’s, all of Les Kiss, Stephen Larkham and Dan McKellar will be coaching their respective teams this year. I believe Kiss to be the best of the three, and by a significant margin(the bad result against the Chiefs in the playoffs last season the one scar), and that gives Qld., in my view, an extra edge.


I agree, Brett, that Qld. on paper, and on squad strength and experience, look the best bet for Australia. If Tim Ryan builds on last year, he could be a WB starter against the Lions. The locking strength and depth is approaching that of teams like Leinster, Toulouse etc…not as strong ofc, but in Super Rugby circles, yes.


I like the type of game Kiss is building. Really carrying on from where he was rudely interrupted at London Irish, when they fell over. The one game on tour where they beat Ulster was a significant pointer to where they are at. While not a top Ulster unit, it was still a very good team, not easy to beat in Belfast. Sadly the Bristol game was a training run, but still valuable in a way, as the group were touring, building systems and understanding.


One player I will be watching with interest is Finn Hurley at the Highlanders. He was brought to my attention a year ago by the grandson of a friend, who knew him at Otago Boys High in Dunedin. Small, but resilient, with a good boot, from what I have seen on clips, he should have a useful first full year as a Highlander.


Hope the Force do well… have always had a “soft spot” for them. But good luck to all franchises, and pray for no serious injuries….as I have done forever, as aplayer, then coach, and now long retired rugby fanatic 😀

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J
Jfp123 3 hours ago
New twist sees Romain Ntamack's Six Nations ban extended

I’m still not convinced. I think everyone should be punished equally for similar actions, rather than differentiating punishment on the basis of speculative psychological analysis. I still think accusations are based more on the mindset of the accuser than the accused. As mentioned, I can’t possibly say why Ntamack committed foul play and you may be right, but that’s not the only possible explanation. Have you never lost concentration when work’s a walkover and your best efforts aren’t needed. We know very little about Ntamack, perhaps major upheavals off the pitch were on his mind, eg maybe worried about the baby. Or how about turning your speculation in the opposite direction? Some pundits mentioned there were afters to the tackle, which presumably indicate the Welsh player had lost his temper. Were those afters delivered silently, or were they accompanied by words? Could he have said something insulting about Ntamack’s mixed heritage, or family, or something else that lit the blue touch paper? I don’t suppose he was complimenting him on his hair! No provocation justifies dangerous play, whether an HIA examination is required or not, and Ntamack deserved his red card and punishment. But if this is what happened, would you call both players’ losses of temper ‘malicious’? After all, Ntamack has taken thousands of big hits over his career without retaliating. The foul was out of character, so should it be explained away by afters to the tackle that were malicious? No one landed a punch, but are all punches malicious, whatever the provocation? Now both this scenario and yours take actions which actually happened, and then progress to pure speculation about the unknown. There are other possibilities too. I’m certainly not saying any of the possibilities discussed are what happened and I don’t presume to know what the players were thinking at the time. If you want to make a case for punishing all players who get a red card, in a similar way with similar outcomes, for longer, that would be fair enough. But I don’t think it’s fair to call for special punishment for a particular player based on speculation.

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