France wins World Cup opener against New Zealand

In a game where both teams made a lot of mistakes, although both sides scored the same number of tries (two), the contribution of French kicker Thomas Ramos (17 points) was decisive for XV del Gallo’s victory. in Group A of the tournament.

“It’s the opening match and everything went well (…) It’s great to win this first match, but there are a lot of matches and we’re not going to ring the bell,” admitted Ramos.

Three-time world champions France have already beaten them on three of the eight occasions they have faced each other at the World Cup.

Already in the last direct confrontation, in 2021, France won on the same stage (40-25), then won 14 consecutive victories for the All Blacks (against Ireland and Argentina), who added many doubts and many defeats. .

However, the defeat is not decisive for the future of the tournament, as both teams will face a formidable opponent in the quarter-finals: reigning world champions South Africa or No. 1-ranked Ireland.

The heat in France in recent days did not discourage the almost 80,000 spectators who packed the temple of French rugby to witness their team’s debut with the dream of starting the road to a first title in its history. Next on October 28 on the same stage.

Due to high temperatures, the tournament organization announced at the last minute that there would be a break during the matches so that the players could cool down.