Blues land in table tennis but crash in rugby, slow PSG… weekend sports recap

Fate crossed this weekend especially for the French teams. If, in table tennis, the Blues won silver at the World Championships, Owley’s men struggled fiercely against Italy in the Six Nations tournament.

Connecting vases this weekend. At a time when the French table tennis team is rising from its ashes, the rugby union team, kept in check by Italy in Lille, looks sluggish without its captain Antoine Dupont, who made his debut with the Blues rugby sevens. At the end of the day, Sunday 25 February, Clement Noel ended on a positive note with a 2nd place finish in the slalom. Palisades Tahoe in the United States.

Table tennis: Blues vice world champion, 27 years later

This is a silver medal that tastes like gold. Twenty-seven years after Jean-Philippe Gatien’s blues epic, the French team once again became vice-world champions in team table tennis, Sunday February 25, in Busan, South Korea. Beaten by the stubborn Chinese in the final, Simon Gauzy, Felix Lebrun and Alexis Lebrun thus equaled the Blues of 1948 and 1997, already in silver, while France have never tasted gold in the discipline.

Facing China, crowned for the eleventh time in a row, the French could do nothing. Alexis LeBrun briefly held on to hopes of an unprecedented coronation, albeit with match point to draw 1-1 against world No. 1 Fan Zhendong, without success. Earlier, his younger brother Felix LeBrun, ranked sixth in the world, was edged out by Wang Chukin (No. 2). In the third rotation, Simon Gauzzi could do nothing against him Legend Ma Long (third in the world). Dismissed 3 to 0, the Blues nevertheless offered a historic silver medal full of promise, five months before the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Six Nations: XV of France loses North

The French XV completely missed their match against Italy on Sunday February 25, on the lawn of the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascq. Despite their immense dominance in the first act, Fabian Galthi’s men never really struck against a modest Italy. However, after Jonathan Dainty’s red card before the break, the Blues spent the second half in misery. Clumsy with ball in hand, and powerless against a solid Transalpine defence, the Tricolor conceded the Italian effort.

Bad: Without a twist of fate, Italy would have won. But Paolo Garbisi’s decisive penalty hit the head of the post, missing the Italian match point. Lesser evil for the Blues, even if this marked a 13-13 defeat, as Fabian Galthia’s words after the match: “We have to live with the pain because it’s a draw. We’ll come together, it’s a difficult moment”. In the standings, the Blues are now fourth, clear of Ireland who take the lead after their recent win over Wales. England’s scorers, the Scots are second.

Ligue 1: PSG min, Minamino max

A minimum service for the leader of Ligue 1. With Kylian Mbappé present on the pitch, but absent from discussions, and furthermore leaving after the hour mark, Paris Saint-Germain performed more than usual on Sunday (1-1) against Stade Rennes. A late penalty, converted by Goncalo Ramos, at least allowed Luis Enrique’s men to avoid defeat, which would have been their first in 19 matches in all competitions. But that will not make us forget the dullness of the Parisian performance, more than the magnificent goal of Emine Gouri, which ensures that Breton, seventh, stays in touch with the European places.

Unlike PSG, AS Monaco went down to win in Lens (2-3) and thus occupy the 3rd step of the podium. The Monegasques, who were leading 2-0 before being caught by the fiery Lensois, were able to grab victory in the dying moments thanks to a superb strike from Minamino, who was at his best throughout the match. Finally, to finish this 23rd day, Olympique de Marseille confirmed its recovery under the leadership of Jean-Louis Gasset. Against Montpellier, Fosse recorded their second win in a row, and first in L1 since 17 December. A success that bears the mark of vengeanceIliman Ndia, scorer and all-rounder on the attacking front.

Skiing: Clement Noel, bonus for regularity

A third consecutive podium for a French slalom skier, this time on the frozen shores of Lake Tahoe in the United States. It’s quite simple, when the Habs finish their races, they are often on the podium (4/6 this winter). Now it remains for him to return to victory, but, for that, he has to get rid of the Scarecrow Manuel Feller, already has four wins in eight races this season. This time again, the Austrian upset the competition from the first round and is heading towards his first Globe in the specialty.

Rugby Sevens: Successful first steps for Anton Dupont

Five months before the Paris Olympic Games, which he intends to play with the French sevens rugby team, Anton Dupont participated in his first matches in this discipline during a tournament in Vancouver (Canada). The rugby union star alternates between starts and entries during matches and distinguished himself with a match-winning try late in the quarter-final. The Blues, however, lost the semis to New Zealand (28-26) but won the bronze medal against the United States (42-12). On the women’s side, the Blues also came up against New Zealand, but were beaten (35-19) in the final. They won a disappointing silver medal while chasing their first gold medal on the circuit.