As France faces Uruguay on Thursday evening, we look back at the Blues’ record victory, which will not be easy to match.
On September 16, 2007, France faced Namibia at the Toulouse Stadium, for their second match in the 2007 World Cup. Beaten in the first match by Argentina (12-17), the Blues had to react. They advance with a largely reshuffled starting line-up, against a Namibian team that has just six professional players. The French XV took advantage of the rapid expulsion of Namibian third row Nieuwenhuis (19th minute) to lead 40-0 at halftime. The bill continued to rise and the French finally won 87 to 10, with 13 tries scored, including two for a furious Sébastien Chabal. However, this score is still far from the all-time World Cup record: 142-0 for Australia in 2003, also against Namibia.
Among the other great successes of the XV of France, a 64-7 victory during the same World Cup against Georgia. 20 years earlier, the 1987 World Cup had also seen its share of big victories for the Blues. They notably obtained a 70-12 victory against Zimbabwe. The tricolors also scored 13 tries that day, which is still a record, and fly-half Didier Cambérabéro scored 30 points, a record for a Frenchman in a World Cup match. In the same competition, they had already beaten Romania 55-12, including a double from Lagisquet, current Portugal coach. Let’s hope for the Blues an equally brilliant victory against Uruguay this Thursday, September 14.
