The XV of France chained a ninth victory in a row by beating Japan (42-23) in the first match of the Blues summer tour, Saturday July 2, in Nagoya. Slow in the first period (13-13 at halftime), Fabien Galthié’s men made the difference in the second act. Beaten for the last time in July 2021 by Australia (33-30), the Blues won thanks to five tries from Damian Penaud (3rd, 58th), Matthis Lebel (45th), Yoram Moefana (61st) and Pierre Bourgarit (68th).
This is the fourth victory for the French against the Japanese team in five games, their first success since the pitiful draw of 2017 (23-23), which cost Guy Novès his place. With this great success, the third biggest gap between the two teams, they can, next week against the same opponents, end a tour on a positive note.
“They were a very playful team, playing good rugby. We managed to respond present: as we got the better of our opponent, “summarized Galthié after the meeting, confident nevertheless that these Blues could still “improve in all sectors”.
New record
After Argentina (29-20), Georgia (41-15), New Zealand (40-25), Italy (37-10), Ireland (30-24), Scotland ( 36-17), Wales (13-9) and England (25-13), the French also extend their winning streak.
They thus set a new record for consecutive successes of a XV of France in the modern era, outclassing the generation led by Serge Blanco, Philippe Sella, Denis Charvet, Didier Camberabero, or even Pierre Berbizier, who had chained ten games without defeat. (including 1 draw) between November 1986 and June 1987. The Blues of 2022 are also approaching a series of ten straight victories, including eight against Germany, established in 1931 and 1937.
However, they remain at a distance from the New Zealand leaders (18 victories between August 2015 and October 2016), English (18 victories between October 2015 and March 2017), South African (17 victories between August 1997 and November 1998) or Welsh (14 wins between March 2018 and March 2019).
