Raphael Olive helped France finish fifth in Division A
Photo: Philip Marshall
21 APRIL 2007
By Ryan Jennings
France claimed fifth place in Division A at the IRB Under-19 World Championship 2007 with an emphatic 43-17 win over England at Shaw’s Bridge, Belfast, a repeat of last year’s third place play off that England won.
Both sides were aiming to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the semi finals and it was France who began the strongest.
France fly half Mathieu Belie spotted a gap outside his opposite number, took it and had space to spare as he touched down in the corner, before he added the conversion.
A second try soon followed. After England were punished for killing the ball illegally France opted for a lineout and after a maul flanker Laurent Thuery dived over the line and touched down under pressure. Again Belie converted.
England hit back with a try through centre Alex Tait who, after good work by the forwards, took the ball short and bundled over the line.
Immediate response
France immediately responded when centre Mathieu Bastareaud punched through the first wave of English defence and despite tackle attempts from David Smith and Adam Greendale, had enough momentum to get over the line.
England scrum half Richard Bolt then made it three tries in six minutes to bring his team back into contention. He box kicked into the French 22 where both Bastareaud and full back Cédric Coll misjudged the bounce and Bolt’s bravery paid off as he touched down under pressure.
Bastareaud got the scoring started in the second half when he crossed the line after two minutes and then set up Djibril Camara to increase the lead 13 minutes into the second half.
Replacement Joe Simpson grabbed a consolation try for England, but this was immediately cancelled out by an outstanding French move which was finished off by Thuery for his second of the match and more accurate conversion kicking from Belie.
QUOTES.
France manager Christophe Mombet: “We feel very happy. Today was our best game of the competition. It was what we had been looking for all through it.”
France captain Morgan Parra: “Position is very important against any England team. We kept the ball very well today, which is good as England are very good at stealing the ball.”
England captain Hugo Ellis: “There were patches were we put a few phases together but on the whole it was a pretty disappointing game. They had a great pick and go game, which we failed to get to grips with.”
England coach Nigel Redman: “I think their ability to hit space hard and offload was a major difference. Our defence, up until now, has been good but we allowed them to play well today.”
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