Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

RUGBY

Six Nations: France beat England with late try

A brilliant late Gael Fickou try helped France to a stunning 26-24 win over England in the Six Nations on Saturday. Read about the dramatic Six Nations opener here.

Published: 1 February 2014 20:27 CET
Six Nations: France beat England with late try
Gael Fickou is mobbed by French team mates after he scores a last ditch try to give France victory against England. Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP

Maxime Machenaud kicked the resulting conversion from under the posts as an exhilarating contest ended in fitting style with France beating their fiercest rivals for the first time since the 2011 World Cup quarter-finals.

France looked to have blown it after two Yoann Huget tries had given them a 16-3 lead midway through the first half, only for Mike Brown — with his first try in 22 England matches — and Luther Burrell, on his debut, to cross the white wash and help England to a five-point lead with just three minutes left.

In the build-up France coach Philippe Saint-Andre laughed off suggestions his team were favourites for the championship, given they finished last in a miserable 2013 in which they lost eight out of 11 matches.

Yet this win will add weight to the suggestion that Les Bleus are favourites in a post-British and Irish Lions tour year, having won the championship on the last four such occasions.

England's other debutant, wing Jack Nowell made a disastrous start as France opened the scoring after just 32 seconds.

Nowell dropped the kick-off from France's own debutant Jules Plisson and the French were quick to strike as Plisson's deflected kick ahead deceived Brown, allowing Huget to take the ball in his stride and dive over in the corner.

Scrum-half Jean-Marc Doussain missed the conversion and on six minutes Owen Farrell kicked a penalty after France were penalised for not rolling away to bring the score back to 5-3.

A penalty from Doussain on 11 minutes extended France's lead before Huget scored again on 16 minutes.

Tom Wood lost the ball in the tackle and France struck with lightning efficiency, going wide right where Huget took on Goode on the outside and fed Brice Dulin inside.

His chip ahead bounced awkwardly, deceiving Nowell and Goode before dropping into Huget's arms to score in the corner again.

Doussain missed the conversion but kicked his second penalty on 23 minutes and France led 16-3.

England were struggling to get into the match but did have their chances, although Goode spilled the ball five yards from the line after a clever break down the blindside.

England refocussed on their strengths and battered away at the French defence with their forwards before a quick tap penalty from a kickable position by scrum-half Danny Care took England to within sight of the tryline.

The ball was sent left and Brown stepped inside Huget and held off tackles from locks Pascal Pape and Alexandre Flanquart to touch down, although Farrell missed the extras.

That changed the momentum of the match and England finished the half banging on the door, although Farrell missed a drop-goal attempt.

They came out firing after the break and another dart from Care saw him held up an inch short of the line, but Farrell landed a penalty to cut the deficit to 16-11.

The worm had well and truly turned and Billy Vunipola powered through the midfield before off-loading to debutant Burrell, who scored under the posts.
 

Farrell's conversion gave the visitors an 18-16 lead.

Care, who was having a magnificent match, then nonchalantly dinked over a drop goal from under the posts on 57 minutes.

England had been bossing the second half but France piled on the pressure at the scrum, where they had already forced two penalties, and a third allowed replacement scrum-half Machenaud to kick them back to within two points.

Yet an immediate reply from Goode, as Farrell was down receiving treatment for cramp, saw England open up a 24-19 lead.

But Fickou had the last say as Nyanga made another marauding break down the right before France switched the ball to the left and Dimitri Szarzewski fixed

Burrell before passing to Fickou who dummied a pass to Medard before darting inside Goode to run in under the posts.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

SPORT

French rugby in turmoil as FFR boss gets suspended sentence over corruption

Lawyers for FFR President Bernard Laporte said he was going to appeal against the court's verdict

Published: 14 December 2022 09:16 CET
French rugby in turmoil as FFR boss gets suspended sentence over corruption

French rugby was reeling Tuesday after the president of the country’s governing body Bernard Laporte was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence on corruption charges nine months before France hosts the game’s World Cup.

Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) president Laporte, 58, was convicted after a French court ruled he showed favouritism in awarding a shirt sponsorship contract for the national side to Mohed Altrad, the billionaire owner of Top 14 champions Montpellier. He was also banned from holding any rugby post for two years. Both are suspended pending an appeal, which Laporte’s lawyer said was imminent.

Laporte later stepped down from his role as vice-chairman of the sport’s global governing body, World Rugby, pending a review by the body’s ethics officer.

“World Rugby notes the decision by World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte to self-suspend from all positions held within its governance structures with immediate effect following his conviction by the French court in relation to domestic matters, and pending his appeal,” World Rugby said.

“While acknowledging Laporte’s self-suspension and right of appeal, given the serious nature of the verdict World Rugby’s Executive Committee has referred the matter to its independent ethics officer for review in accordance with its integrity code,” it added.

Resignation call
Laporte faces problems on the domestic front, too, with Florian Grill, who narrowly lost to him in the 2020 election for federation chief, calling for Laporte and the entire board to stand down.

“It is unheard of in rugby, this is an earthquake,” Grill told AFP. “We have never before seen a president of the federation condemned to two
years in prison, even if it suspended.

“We think the 40 members of the board of directors should draw the obvious conclusions and resign.”

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said the sentence was an “obstacle for Bernard Laporte to be able, as it stands, to continue his mission in good conditions” as federation president, and called for a “new democratic era to allow French rugby to rebound as quickly as possible and sufficiently healthy and solid, with a governance by the federation that will have the full confidence of the clubs”.

The court found that Laporte ensured a series of marketing decisions favourable to Altrad – who was given an 18-month suspended sentence and
€50,000 euro — in exchange for a €180,000 image licensing contract that was never actually carried out.

Altrad’s lawyer said he would study the decision before deciding on whether to appeal.

At the trial’s close in September, prosecutors said they were seeking a three-year prison sentence for Laporte, of which he should serve one behind bars, and the two others on probation.

The friendship and business links between Laporte and Altrad are at the heart of the case.

It goes back to February 2017, when they signed a deal under which Laporte agreed to appear at Altrad group conferences, and sold his image reproduction rights, in return for €180,000.

But while that sum was  paid to Laporte, prosecutors claim that he neveractually provided the services he signed up for.

Laporte did, however, make several public statements backing Altrad and, in March 2017, signed the €1.8 million deal with the businessman making his namesake firm the first-ever sponsor to appear on the French national team’s jerseys.

The Altrad name and logo still features on the shirts thanks to a follow-up deal negotiated by Laporte in 2018 and which prosecutors say bears all the hallmarks of corruption. It is also on the All Blacks’ national squads’ shirts, and New Zealand Rugby is reportedly seeking an urgent meeting with company officials following the court ruling.

Laporte, formerly a highly successful coach who guided France twice to the World Cup semi-finals (2003 and 2007), was also found guilty of favouritism
with regards to Altrad’s Montpellier Herault Rugby (MHR) club.

He was convicted for intervening with French rugby’s federal disciplinary commission to reduce a fine against the club from €70,000 to €20,000 after several telephone calls from Laporte.

While prosecutors saw this and several more incidents as proof of illicit favouritism, Laporte himself had claimed there was no “cause-effect relationship”.

On the last day of the trial in October, Laporte’s lawyer Fanny Colin accused the prosecution of “confirmation bias” by “taking into account only elements backing their original assumptions”.

The verdict comes only nine months before the Rugby World Cup kicks off in France on September 8, 2023, with matches played in nine stadiums across the country.

SHOW COMMENTS