The Blues were beaten in the semi-finals by New Zealand in Vancouver

There won’t be another French Rugby Sevens final in Vancouver this Sunday. An hour after Les Bleus qualified, Jerome Derret’s men fell to a formidable New Zealand side (28-26) this Sunday evening, who are already finalists in Dubai this season. The French VII will still play the third-place match against the United States, defeated by Argentina 35 to 19 in the other semifinal, at 1:10 p.m. French time. An opponent the Blues had beaten entering the tournament (24-12).

The move was indeed too high for the new team-mates of Antoine Dupont, who was once again a substitute at kick-off but managed to play 4 minutes at the end of the match. In a game as clinical and open as VII’s the team faces, we know that any mistakes are paid in cash. The Blues, very clumsy under the sack (losing 3 balls), learned this the hard way during this semi-final. Troubled immediately at kick-off, they immediately came under pressure from the All Blacks who printed an impressive sequence of minutes of play, capped off by young (19-year-old) Cody Wye, showing all his ability to play after contact. . Later, they conceded another try after Stephen Parez-Addo was dismissed at short notice, flattened by the formidable Aquila Rokolissoa (14-5, 7th).

And while, each time, the Blues were able to respond with their attacking balls – through Jefferson-Lee Joseph (7-5, 5th) and Jordan Safo (14-12, 8th) – they seemed to have a hard time stopping the new ball. . Zeeland Machine. That was confirmed in the second half when the Blacks scored two tries in quick succession (28-12, 10th). Inclusion of a new enrollee after a poorly negotiated dismissal. And if a nice burst of pride at the end of the match allowed the Blues to finish two lengths clear of the New Zealanders, the gap was made.