Finished Saint-Denis
-
Live Commentary
Time:80'- France
- Argentina
80' France win penalty and have one last chance. Great tackle from Roncero - and the ref blows for full time. Amazing stuff from the Pumas and the most important victory in Argentina's rugby history!!!
80' Less than a minute to go and the games looks over and Contepomi steadies himself for another penalty kick. But he misses and the ball is still alive - why did he not kick it dead?!?- 79' Heymans breaks from defence and moves France into Pumas half. But still the Pumas tackle for their lives and France are unable to break clear. Again they concede another penalty and that must be it surely!!!
- 78' Contepomi steps up but pulls it just wide. France are still alive and two minutes to score!
- 77' Harinordoquy takes a superb high ball and allows France to launch an attack. But again they lose possession and Pumas force another penalty when France fail to release!
- 76' Pichot now directing his forwards to pick and drive and run down the clock. Music to the ears for Pumas fans. Contepomi goes for long drop goal but hits it poorly.
- 74' France knock on and time running out for the host nation. They can still win it but they seem to be unable to chose the right option!
73' Ostiglia and Contepomi off for Pumas. Mignoni off for France and Elissalde on.- 71' But Michalak misses!!! He wasn't even close. Unbelievable!
- 70' Michalak kicks through, Corletto goes to ground to gather the ball but gives away penalty for not releasing. Pumas a tad unlucky there - perhaps?
- 69' Great kick from hooker Ledesma puts Pumas into France 22.
- 66' Good work from France fowards, who force a turnover and allow Michalak to clear the danger!
- 64' Pumas rush defence again forces mistake from France and Pumas kick up field. Corletto gathers but fails to find Contepomi - that could have been the winning moment but the pass just didn't go to hand!
- 63' Rougerie makes another break but France attack stopped by what looked like an intentional knock on. And Pumas somehow awarded line-out, but they knock on an France win a scrum. Justice appears to have been served and France have attacking platform!
- 62' The Maverick Michalak on for Skrela, who appears to be hobbling.
- 62' Chabal immediately into the action and makes a powerful charge - but he had men outside and he failed to see them!
- 61' Chabal on for Pelous, Szarzewski for Ibanez and Bonnaire for Martin.
- 59' Another penalty to France as Pumas come in at the side. Another chance for Skrela - it has to go over and this time it does. Good recovery from the number 10. 17-12.
- 58' The Seabass is ready to come on! Sale's Chabal is limbering up on the touch line!
- 57' Stunning catch from Corleto!
- 55' Penalty to France for Pumas not rolling away after a tackle and slowing the ball down. But Skrela misses! Amazing - from 25m! Surely now Laporte has to bring on a new stand-off!!!!
- 53' Great break from Rougerie but again Pumas defence gets back to cover first wave of attacks. Scrum down to France on Pumas 22m line.
- 52' Hernandez goes for drop goal but he's too slow and France manage to clear the pressure.
- 51' Heymans makes half error by failing to gather up-and-under and Pumas gain line-out on France 22.
- 50' Pumas win penalty and Hernandez kicks them into the France half.
48' Manuel Contepomi off for a blood injury. Looks like he'll be back on shortly!- 46' Pumas keep out first few waves but surely France are going to cross, but again the Pumas put their bodies on the line! Amazing defence wins them a penalty! What a body blow for France and massive lift for the Pumas who have repelled the best the French can throw at them! A little match within a match, and it was won by the Pumas!
- 45' Great drive from France forwards, their first of the game, and they've moved to within a metre of the Pumas line!
- 44' Poor kick from Skrela easily marked by Borges, but he fails to find a good touch and France win line-out in Pumas half.
- 43' Big hit from Contepomi on Dominci but France hang on to the ball. France looking better at the start of this half and are at least retaining possession well.
- 41' Pumas get us underway again and France secure the ball before Skrela finds touch. Pumas have line-out in France half and will need to improve this area of their game, but they lose their first throw!!
40' Skrela kicks crucial penalty as first half comes to an end, cutting the Pumas' lead to 17-9. France have all to play for in the second half as the force is certainly with the Pumas! Laporte will be furious with his team's performance so far and we could well see some changes, especially at half back!- 39' Forward pass missed by ref Spreadbury who then gives France penalty for Pumas diving over a ruck.
- 38' Pumas concede penalty for handling in the ruck and France kick for touch.
- 36' Mignoni and Skrela looking rattled for France while Pumas' half-backs Pichot and Hernandez are the picture of composure and control!
- 35' France make another hash from the restart and Heymans is charged down, allowing Pumas to force another attacking line-out, which Martins does well to spoil.
- 34' Huge kick from Contepomi - all 52m - and he extends Pumas lead to 17-6!
- 33' France again fail to gather the high kick and concede another penalty for handling in the ruck.
- 30' France pressing and Pumas finally give away penalty in front of their posts. Skrela makes no mistakes and cuts the deficit to 14-6.
- 29' France are certainly up against it and will have to take the game to Argentina now. They must score before half-time and a silky break from Skrela will certainly help.
28' Traille intercepts and looks to have broken free, but Contepomi intercepts back and Pumas feed Corleto and nobody can touch the flyer as he touches down for the game's first try, the World Cup's first try!!! Amazing stuff from the Pumas. 14-3.- 27' Juan Fernandez Lobbe looks groggy after taking a knock and immediately France steal a line-out. Looks like he'll be coming off before too long.
- 25' Traille back on after being stitched up and immediately handed a hospital pass! Thanks Dominici!
- 24' Superb kick from Contepomi and the Pumas move 9-3 ahead!
- 22' Huge scrum from France but Pumas retain possession and stretch France wide, before winning another penalty. France being given the run around here!
- 21' Heymans calls the mark but fails to find touch, Corleto puts up another high ball, regathers and allows Pumas to launch another attack. Great play from the full-back!
- 20' Pumas win another line-out puts up a high ball which Manuel Contepomi secures and his brother Felipe goes for drop goal, which sails just wide!
- 17' But home side make another mistake and allow Pumas to attack again through Manuel Contepomi.
- 17' France win line-out safely and rumble forward away from their line.
- 16' France's Traille is off for a head injury, Michalak on. Looks messy for Traille.
- 14' Another turn over by France allows Pumas to attack down the left wing and Contempomi kicks across field to within a metre of the France line!
- 13' Great attacking scrum for France but Pumas hold firm and force another put in. Pichot intercepts on the second scrum and feeds Hernandez as Pumas clear the danger. Superb play from the scrum-half, showing all his experience.
- 11' Now it's France's turn to launch an attack after they forced turnover with stunning defence. Breathless stuff from both sides. Betsen's tackle on Contempomi allows France to break way upfield and only desperate defence keeps them out!
- 9' Pumas take restart well and attack down the right wing. Ball is kicked up field to Hernandez who is flattened by Pelous. But ref calls them back for a Mignoni knock on! France looking nervous!
- 8' Corleto puts up an up-and-under, France fail to gather properly and Contepomi makes a sublime break, from which the French concede another penalty for entering ruck from wrong side. Contepomi on target again as Pumas retake the lead!
- 6' Sloppy restart from Pumas gives France attacking scrum and they win their own penalty for Argentina number seven handling on the ground. Skrela makes it 3-3.
- 5' Penalty for Argentina and Contepomi steps up and slots it beautifully. Pumas deservedly take the lead at 3-0.
- 3' Early drop at goal from Hernandez but falls just wide. Good effort.
- 2' Pumas spoil France's line-out and Pichot grubs through and Heymans is ankle tapped before France clear their lines. Great start from Argentina!
- 1' And France get us underway, the Pumas gather safely and Hernandez clears the danger and pushes France back into their own half.
- It may be night-time in Paris but it's a warm, dry evening and all set for running rugby. The Pumas have set their stall our by naming Hernandez at stand-off, while France's skill and flair is well documented.- - Get ready for a super-charged and super-intense encounter following the months of sparring and warm-up games. Pool matches don't come much bigger than this in what has been described as the 'group of death'. Three teams in the top six of the world rankings and neither France or Argentina can afford to slip up. Ireland lie in wait and a loss this evening will make it extremely difficult to make it out of the group phases. The Pumas have won four of the last five matches with France and will not be short of confidence!
- - Well, it's finally arrived rugby fans, the World Cup is back after four long, long years. Welcome to Paris and welcome to Eurosport's online coverage of the opening game of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
-
Summary
France versus Argentina Tries Corleto 27’ Conversions Skréla 7’, 31’, 40’, 60’ Penalties Contepomi 5’, 10’, 23’, 34’ Drops
Live Team Line-Up
- Referee: Tony Spreadbury
-
FranceManager: Bernard Laporte
On the Field
- Milloud
- Ibanez
- De Villiers
- Pelous
- Thion
- Betsen
- Martin
- Harinordoquy
- Mignoni
- Skréla
- Dominici
- Traille
- Jauzion
- Rougerie
- Heymans
Subs
- Chabal
- Elissalde
- Poux
- Michalak
- Bonnaire
- Szarzewski
- Dusautoir
Injured
None
Suspended
None
-
ArgentinaManager: Marcelo Loffreda
On the Field
- Roncero
- Ledesma
- Scelzo
- Fernandez Lobbe
- Albacete
- Ostiglia
- Fernandez Lobbe
- Leguizamon
- Pichot
- Hernandez
- Agulla
- Contepomi
- Contepomi
- Borges
- Corleto
Subs
- Durand
- Fernandez Miranda
- Senillosa
- Todeschini
- Alvarez Karielis
- Vernet Basualdo
- Bonorino
Injured
None
Suspended
None
This site is Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
- Terms of Service
- Updated Privacy Policy
- Copyright/IP Policy
- Remarks and Suggestions
- Corporate info
- Jobs at Eurosport
Notice: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy.