It's on at the Stade de France! As part of the November tour, the Blues took the lead over Japan with a try from the Bordeaux-Begles winger. France 5 : 0 Japan Live The Blues have recoveredé the ball on the ground. The captain of the French XV takes advantage of this to play kicking in the Japanese camp. The Blues did not concede any ground, but a member of the Blues took a Japanese player in the neck. France was caught in a foul. Tatekawa took the ball out ten meters from the French line. The French XV fly-half was in the corner. From a supersonic run, following a kick to follow for himself, Bielle-Biarrey strikes first in the corner ! From one wing to another, Bielle-Biarrey pushed the ball with his foot. On the run, the winger of the French XV seems to have scored. The referee asks to check. & Following an exchange of kicks, the scrum-half has indeed shifted Attisogbe. France is already at the median level! While trying to clear his camp, the scrum-half was blocked by Dearns. The second row was taken over, in extremis, by Leo Barr. Behind, a Japanese player committed a forward pass. It will be a scrum five metres from the French in-goal. Tatekawa takes a short kick-off! Roumat wins the aerial battle. It is gray above the Stade de France for this France – Japan. Rain could make an appearance! The atmosphere is electric in the stands for this France – Japan! Make way for the national anthems! Led by Eddie Jones, Japan is in the midst of a rebuild. The eccentric coach wants to make it the fastest team of all time, but it suffers on the physical side of the game with sizes that are below international level. The Japanese are coming off two heavy defeats in a row against New Zealand (19-64) and Fiji (41-17). With Romain Ntamack injured, Mathieu Jalibert, who was brilliant with Bordeaux-Begles, was the legitimate replacement. The fly-half had already played this role during the last World Cup and at the start of the previous Six Nations Tournament. To everyone's surprise, the fly-half was relegated to the bench in favor of Thomas Ramos, who is a full-back by training. A choice that is surprising in the microcosm of rugby. Fabien Galthiá explained: “It was the talent and the level of play that pushed us to choose this Dupont-Ramos hinge. If we study the performance of a team, one of the key factors of success is the collective experience. Take it as you will, but if you look at club teams, national teams, one of the essential criteria is collective experience. In the adaptation and search for performance, we first take the most efficient players. This hinge is essential among the starters. However, Matthieu Jalibert, who has been with us for five years, counts because he performs with his club, just as he performed with the French XV. So we are counting on his level of rugby.” Eddie Jones has entrusted the armband to Tatekawa for this France – Japan. 
21:22 – Dupont keeps the danger away (9th)
21:20 – France is undisciplined (8th)
21:18 – Japan is threatening (7th)
21:18 – Ramos misses the target (5th)
21:14 – Video refereeing for a potential try by France! (4th)
21:12 – Dupont recovers (3rd)
21:11 – Big mistake by Dupont! (2nd)
21:05 – The playing conditions for this France – Japan!
21:04 – The players enter the pitch!
21:00 – What is Japan worth ?
20:55 – The Mathieu Jalibert Enigma
First clash of the European tour 👌🇫🇷
Here’s your Brave Blossoms lineup for Sunday’s clash against @FranceRugby
📆 Sunday, 10 November 05:10
📍 Stade de FranceWatch the action live on @wowow_rugby & WOWOW On Demand 👀#BraveBlossoms | #FRAvJPN pic.twitter.com/3uk2M6cli1
— Japan Rugby (@JRFURugby) November 7, 2024
20:45 – Galthié justifiedé this return à competition
Questionné In a press conference on his choices, the coach of the French XV justified himself: “I prefer to talk about continuity and emulation. There is only one new cap with Tevita (Tatafu) who had already joined us before the summer to prepare for the tour in Argentina, even if he could not yet play with us. For the rest, all the players have already été capés. It is a France group that is heading towards this match, thanks to the renegotiated agreements with the League to rework at 42 and for two weeks. This first composition is the team in the best shape at the moment. It is therefore above all a France team where there is emulation, with players who push for competition."
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