MY ACCOUNT
France were delighted to welcome back a home crowd at the Stade de France for Saturday’s Test against Argentina, but captain Antoine Dupont suggested the occasion contributed to their sloppy play.
Les Bleus were playing a home Test for the first time since crowds returned following the coronavirus shutdown.
Dupont and his team-mates were able to celebrate the reunion with a win, edging Los Pumas 29-20 despite having to wait until the 50th minute for the first try through Thibaud Flament.
Melvyn Jaminet’s work from the tee had kept France in the match up to that point and he finished with five penalties along with successful conversions from both tries.
But Dupont recognised Les Bleus lacked discipline in their opening November international, referring to “a lot of mistakes” in a post-match interview with France Tele.
“The victory is there but we are able to do much better,” the stand-in skipper added.
“It also felt good to no longer sing the Marseillaise alone in a stadium. It’s been a long time since we’ve played together.
“There was a lot of appetite and enthusiasm on everyone’s part, which led to small mistakes but it was for good reason.”
