By Mitch Phillips
HT Picture
LONDON, – France had been left fuming over missed possibilities in a dominant first half as they misplaced 26-25 to England on Saturday of their first away recreation of the Six Nations.
Les Bleus didn’t convert a number of attempt alternatives earlier than the interval and their lack of effectivity got here again to hang-out them as England secured a last-minute win due to Elliot Daly’s transformed attempt.
The outcome left either side with one victory and one defeat after two matches, nonetheless in place to assert the title though France should nonetheless journey to fellow pre-championship favourites Eire.
“We missed may chances in the first half but at 7-7 at the break we thought we just had to play the same way and just be more precise,” France head coach Fabien Galthie mentioned.
A string of dealing with errors value France dearly and dashed their Grand Slam hopes after a quick begin with a 43-0 victory over Wales.
“The conditions were humid but it was playable. And we found space, so after that there was no reason for us not to score,” added Galthie, who has reworked France since he took over in 2020 however has solely received a single title within the 2022 Six Nations.
“We lost this game in the first half,” fullback Thomas Ramos mentioned.
“When you miss so many scoring chances, they keep hope and then they kill you in the end.”
Ramos, nevertheless, remained optimistic about France’s probabilities of successful the championship forward of journeys to Italy and Eire and a house recreation towards Scotland.
“When you have the ambitions to win the Six Nations and lose your first away game, it hurts. But we can still win our last three matches and claim the title,” he mentioned.
Captain and scrumhalf Antoine Dupont, who was paired with the massively disappointing Matthieu Jalibert within the absence of suspended Romain Ntamack, agreed.
“We wasted way too many opportunities,” he mentioned. “We should score at least three times in the first half. We put them in danger but did not convert.”