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 Robbed France stutters to win over Fiji
Posted: Sunday October 17, 1999 11:10 AM
TOULOUSE, France (CNN/SI) -- France has not had the best of World Cup's, and Saturday's match almost humbled the French even more as Fiji led 19-13 with only 20 minutes left to play. The Group C game turned when with about ten minutes left, New Zealand's referee Paddy O'Brien of France awarded Fiji a penalty try after the Fiji pack had collapsed the scrum near its tryline nine times. In the dying moments of the game France would surge over the line once more to win 28-19. The victory assured the French of top place in the group and they now advance to a quarterfinal against Ireland or the best third-placed team, leaving Fiji with a daunting playoff at Twickenham against England. France again put on an unconvincing display in front of its own fans, and Fiji looked set for its first ever win against the French when two Nicky Little penalties gave it a 19-13 lead with 20 minutes to play. Only in the last ten minutes did France show the determination and collectivity that it has so badly lacked throughout the World Cup. "We didn't nail the game when we had an advantage," said Fiji coach Brad Johnstone. "Instead of playing into the corners we ran too often." In a frantic closing period, the referee lost patience with the Fiji pack, he gave yellow cards to two Fiji forwards, before awarding France the penalty try. Richard Dourthe converted to make it 20-19 after 70 minutes and Christophe Lamaison kicked a penalty with two minutes left to make it 23-19. Johnstone had no complaints with the referee but captain and hooker Greg Smith wasn't so diplomatic. "I don't know why we were penalized," he said. "As a forward I know more than the referee does, and feel that we were robbed." There was time for more controversy. In injury time, a Christophe Dominici try was ruled out for offside, but the Stade Francais winger wasn't to be denied and later crossed the line to the delight of the full house of 36,000 in the capital of French rugby. Christophe Juillet scored France's other try from open play. Dourthe kicked 10 points and Lamaison three. Alfred Uluinayau scored Fiji's try, and Little kicked 14 points. The game was always niggly and Fiji's early tackling was ferocious. In the fifth minute Viliame Satala was given a yellow card for a tackle on Fabien Pelous that left the tough Toulouse lock stunned. Fiji No. 8 Alivereti Mocelutu soon followed Satala into the referee's notebook and French captain Raphael Ibanez also received a yellow card in a bitterly fought first half. France opened the scoring with a penalty by Dourthe after seven minutes following some early pressure on the Fijian line. The French backs then began to run the ball, but two bright moves broke down after knock-ons by the wingers. Both sides missed difficult penalties, and Fiji equalized after 19 minutes with a simple penalty from Little. The game then swung toward France after 21 minutes. Abdel Benazzi's aggression opened the way for scrumhalf Stephane Castaignede to feed flanker Juillet who drove over the line, taking two Fijians with him. Dourthe converted to make it 10-3. Alivereti Mocelutu was then booked for a high tackle, and was lucky not to be sent off a few minutes later for another on Raphael Ibanez, who eventually had to be substituted. The French, though, lacked composure and were particularly poor at the lineout, losing four in the first half hour. The half ended with two controversial refereeing decisions. With two minutes left, France won a penalty after the Fijians were caught offside. Lamaison caught the Fijians napping and quickly passed to Dominici who touched over. It had been a forward pass, but the referee didn't give Fiji a scrum after ruling that Fiji had encroached on the original penalty. France was awarded another penalty and Dourthe kicked them into a 13-3 lead. Seconds later, Fiji scored a try, which was harshly disallowed after France's Ugo Mola was caught by two Fijians and Setareki Tawake pounced. France deserved its 13-3 half-time lead after controlling possession but soon looked like it would rue its inability to score more than one try. Fiji came out brightly for the second half, and Little pulled the score back to 13-6 with a penalty. Uluinayau then brought Fiji right back into the game with a stunning run from the halfway line to touch down under the posts, charging 40 meters (yards) and through two weak French attempts to floor him. Little converted to make it 13-13. The French began to lose their discipline and Little scored two penalties in eight minutes to make it 19-13. That sparked the French into action, and Lamaison opted to kick a penalty into touch at the corner flag, which led to the decisive penalty try. But France is still struggling to find its form. "We can play much better than we did today. We managed to come back and find our rhythm and this will help us get our confidence back in the quarterfinal," said French coach Jean-Claude Skrela. After Samoa's win against Wales the French were on alert against another shock from a south Pacific nation, but it badly missed the artistry of the injured Thomas Castaignede.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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