Following France’s 96-0 victory over Namibia in their Rugby World Cup clash, here is how we rated the Les Bleus players.
15 Thomas Ramos: Knocked over 11 of his 12 shots at goal and moved into the fly-half channel later in the game. He did have some wayward kicks out of hand, for his high standards, but otherwise, he was solid. 7
High flying wingers
14 Damian Penaud: He is an unreal rugby player. He scored a hat-trick, and while he is a handful for most teams to contain, for Namibia, he was like trying to catch water one-handed. 9
13 Gael Fickou: Nit-picking here, but there were one or two poor decisions with the ball in hand. But he ran an air-tight defence, made a turnover and had some lovely runs. 7
12 Jonathan Danty: A trademark performance and did what was expected of him as he hammered through the Namibian defence, contested the breakdown, grabbed two tries and made his tackles. 8
11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey: France’s attack served him up wonderfully, but he was ruthless when he got the opportunity. Two tries, one assist and his second score was a sublime individual effort. Not a foot wrong all game. 9
Classy half-backs
10 Matthieu Jalibert: Linked up well with Antoine Dupont as they ripped the Namibian defence to shreds. Threw a wonderful pass in the build-up to Charles Ollivon’s try and kicked well out of hand. 7
9 Antoine Dupont: Ronan O’Gara compared him to French football legend Zinedine Zidane this week, and you can’t argue that. Like his football counterpart, Dupont is the best player in the world and doesn’t drop his standard for any opposition. A kick-try assist with both boots and scored a try; Namibia just couldn’t contain him. Left the pitch with a suspected cheekbone fracture, a player France can’t afford to lose. 8
8 Anthony Jelonch: His second game back, and Fabien Galthie will be pleased with his level of performance. He was a bit lethargic at the back of the scrum when France were dominating, and Namibia almost made him pay once for it. But otherwise, he was excellent and set up a try for Thibaut Flament as he broke away from the ruck and offloaded. 7
Record breaking back-rower
7 Charles Ollivon: A memorable night outside of the massive win as he became France’s top-scoring forward, dotting down twice. Like Dupont, he did not let his standards drop for the opposition. 8
6 Francois Cros: An uncharacteristic fumble from a restart, but otherwise, it was a classic Cros performance as he topped the tackle count, hit countless rucks and carried well when required. 7
5 Thibaud Flament: Always a hard worker around the park, and today was no different. He was rewarded when Jelonch sent him charging over and was solid in everything he did. 7
4 Cameron Woki: Hardly a testing game for the second-rower in truth. He won his lineouts with ease, made his tackles and made a few carries in the tight. Did his job without being a standout. 6
Solid front-row
3 Uini Atonio: Like Woki, he simply did what was required of him without being a standout. Got the upper hand at scrum time and was replaced at the break. 6
2 Peato Mauvaka: Got his first lineout throw all wrong but shook that off to have a strong outing. Carried well and made his tackles, looks comfortable in the starting XV with Julien Marchand sidelined. 7
1 Cyril Baille: Copy and paste from his fellow front-rowers, got the job done. He looked sharp on his return from injury and even threw some nice passes. 6
Replacements: Kept the tempo and the standard set in the first half. Reda Wardi gave some silly penalties away, but the likes of Baptiste Couilloud, Pierre Bourgarit, Melvyn Jaminet and Dorian Aldegheri were excellent. Yoram Moefana also did well, coming on at flank. 7
READ MORE: France rack up record-breaking win over Namibia as Damian Penaud dazzles
The article France player ratings: Speedsters fire Les Bleus to emphatic World Cup victory appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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