In a close game in Pool C before talks of Typhoons and cancellations, France ground out a win against a strong Tongan team. The overall performance was characteristically french. The flair came through till the 45th minute. However after that Tonga wrested back control forcing increasing mentions of the game in 2011, where Tonga beat France.
It will be the French flair that I will aim to focus on. The simple strategies and techniques that France used are demonstrably difficult to detail and may well derail Wales in the Quarter Finals. The exploitation of space, against a suffocating defence will be an interesting battle,but back to Sea Eagles instead of Dragons.
If we look at France’s first try, scored through the combination of Raka and Vakatawa we see the ability to exploit space clearly. The conditions that enable France to prosper are created by a Tongan mistake but it is their natural rugby style that enables the exploitation of the mistakes.
Chat, wins the overthrow and partially bounces off the Tongan 10. Being unable to complete the job however he stays on his feet. As siale Piatau is shooting up it leaves a dog leg which is exposed.
This gives Raka freedom to attack directly in the wide channels, and unfortunately for any defender the ability to gain speed. The carry is devastating, really working to go through the contact. This draws in the inside defenders to him, and gives France the perfect attacking set up.
The support has carried on both sides of the ball. This means that despite the tackle, France are able to attack space quickly through the offload. The skill delivers the ball, and enable Vakatawa an unopposed finish.
However this all stems from the calmness of Chat when he wins the ball. His dominant carry could have led to a ruck instead he uses his ballast to offload, enabling Ntamack to free the French backline.
While the above score shows France’s ability to expose wide channel space it was their work in the tight channels that catches the eyes. To some degree all international teams should be able to expose the outside channels, but the heads up notice of the space in 5m channel was incredibly pleasing to see.
As you can see in the still France have Serin at the front of the lineout, this means they have him able to loop around for the ball once the jumper has secured it. It’s a common tactic and hence the Tongan front lifter is facing in. It is this space Serin exposes with a simple 2 on 1 being created.
France are then also able to react with speed, their openside tearing through the Tongan lineout in support for Chat. This keeps the play alive and stretches Tonga even more. By keeping the ball alive it also means more French support can support the carrier. WIth a pod of 3 in support it gives France another chance to play off the deck.
By staying on his feet, the openside can offload and play the ball to a hard runner (currently being tackled), who then offloads to Vahaamahina. The work by the openside then to keep the blindside open, allows the try to be scored. Except of course it is disallowed.
The pass goes forward, in a microcosm for the match. The French do something incredible and then almost pull off a contender for try of the tournament. The completely unplayable attack is then let down by some overzealous attacking.
Tonga also played well however, and it would be unfair to dismiss the sea eagles. The fight and control they brought in the second half was outstanding. Throughout the game they had patches of brilliance and putting down chances which meant it became a what might have been sort of game.
Throughout the game they invited pressure onto themselves as a result of simply not being able to escape their own 22. The inability to move from it, even with kicking included shows the general problem with the Tongan attack. The handling also led to them surrendering 80% of the ball. A genuine problem restricting a possibly historic win.
Frances ability to cut a team open in many ways will be a worry for Wales and any other opponents should they progress further. Over 10% of their platforms they converted to points, with a massive 20% chance of scoring in Tonga’s half. The variation shown in attack coupled with the ability to really control the flair will be key if France are to fulfil the promise of the halves of rugby they have produced. Tonga gave a good account of themselves but key chances went to ground and the fact they converted at a rate of 0.4 points per platform compared to 0.5 of France was really the difference. As Frances ability to exploit key moments shone through.
The Analysis Guy 