France Player Ratings v England

December 06, 2020
7049
Ultimate Rugby

A second-string France performed superbly in a 95-minute thriller against England in the Autumn Nations Cup Final on Saturday.

France looked on course to win the match before Luke Cowan-Dickie's try and Owen Farrell's conversion sent the game into extra time.

Farrell slotted a penalty in the 95th minute to seal the victory for England against a spirited French side.

Here is how we rated the French:

15. Brice Dulin - 9

Hard to pick out who was France's best as the side collectively played out of their socks but Dulin would be right up there if you had to pick.

Dulin has forged out an excellent TOP14 career by being superbly solid in all departments, attributes which have earned him over 30 test caps and today was no different.

He had one or two hiccups the entire game but he was otherwise sensational under the high ball. England kicked a lot and Dulin was the perfect man at the back to stall and clean up numerous threatening attacks.

He ran an excellent line to score off of Jalibert's excellent break and made over 50 running metres himself and beat six defenders.

14. Alivereti Raka - 6.5

Raka has been known for being somewhat of a defensively liability but he looks to have sorted some of those issues, or at least today he did, as he managed to chop down the excellent Jonny May on a number of occasions.

He saw little ball on attack but did make one or two heavy carries making 17 metres.

13. Yoram Moefana - 7

Went the full 95 minutes and did he stock no harm. At 19, Moerfana is the first player born in the 2000s to play for France and the youngster showed plenty of promise at the highest level.

Defensively he was excellent and he carried the ball with really vigor throughout despite being on the wrong end of a Billy Vunipola big hit.

12. Jonathan Danty - 6.5

Some bulky carries, one of which sending Owen Farrell flying backwards. Danty was strong defensively and managed to beat a few defenders with his footwork.

11. Gabin Villiere -8

France are still mourning the death of Christophe Dominici but Gabin Villiere is paying tribute to the man with his performance in the Les Bleus jersey.

A pocket rocket of a winger, Villiere displays a similar dog in him that Dominici did and put in another fearless shift for his country. He flew into tackles and rucks with real determination and refused to go to the ground lightly every time he touched the ball. He also managed to hold George Ford up over the line before half time and won an excellent penalty at the breakdown in the second half.

Villiere was playing in the third division of French rugby just two seasons ago and is thriving with every step up he takes.

10. Matthieu Jalibert - 7

Sparked Les Bleus into life with an excellent show go and offload to assist Brice Dulin.

Jalibert was pulled from the pitch in the 62nd minute and was a real shame as he finally looked to be producing on his promise.

He did have a few hiccups with some loose passes and mishit kicks but overall he was good.

9. Baptiste Couilloud - 6.5

Whether by instruction or result of the flow of the game but Couilloud was relatively one dimensional.

His passing and kicking was sharp but he didn't test the England defence around the rucks. He did come up with a clutch turnover late in the second half and made 8 solid hits on defence.

1. Hassane Kolingar - 5

A strong 53 minutes in his first start for France. He did come under pressure at the scrum which hurt his rating but was busy on defence making 7 tackles.

2. Pierre Bourgarit - 6.5

Trucked around the pitch for 53 minutes getting through a ton of work on defence and in the rucks.

His darts were true as well while he managed 13 metres from his seven carries.

3. Dorian Aldegheri - 5

Suffered an injury that ended his game just before half time. Was under pressure from Ellis Genge at the scrum.

Otherwise, he was good on both sides of the ball.

4. Baptiste Pesenti -6

Was unlucky to be penalised for taking out Jonny May on a kick chase but Pesenti was good value for 56 mintues.

He made his tackles was good at the lineouts whether it was France or England's ball.

5. Killian Geraci - 6

A big defensive and aggressive performance from the red-headed second-rower.

He got stuck into the hard graft for the full game with most of his game spent at the bottom of the rucks.

Carried and tackled well when asked to do so.

6. Cameron Woki - 8

A titanic 56 minute showing from Woki before he was replaced for Sekou Macalou with the replacement presumably having more to do with the latter getting more game time.

England's set-pieces were excellent heading into the game but Woki looked to have done his homework as he managed to disrupt a number of Jamie George's throws.

Woki drove England attackers backwards and carried superbly while being a threat at the breakdown.

7. Anthony Jelonch 8.5

Joins Woki as he too put in a titanic performance. He forced England into a number of errors, one of which being in the three-minute defensive effort before half time.

Jelonch stepped up at clutch times and was the top tackler for France in the encounter. We have not see the last of him in a French jersey that is for sure.

8. Selevasio Tolofua

Spilt his very first touch of test rugby inside the French 22 but that was about as bad as his game got.

On debut, Tolofua was one of France's best-attacking weapons-making 13 carries for 20 metres and beat five defenders.

Replacements:

16. Peato Mauvaka - 6

Picked up from where Bourgarit left off but wasn't quite as effective. Mauvaka had a few darts go astray but did get stuck into the English rucks.

17. Rodrigue Neti - 5

Didn't quite solidify the French scrum but managed to hold his own.

Missed a few tackles but was not terrible.

18. Uini Atonio - 6

A big 62-minute shift for the big man as he made all of his attempted tackles and cleared out rucks.

19. Guillaume Ducat - 5

Solid without standing out or being spectacular.

20. Sekou Macalou - 8

45 minutes for the flanker to remember.

Macalou has been on the fringes of the French squad for some time now and the last two tests have provided him with the opportunity to shine. The incredibly talented flanker was superb on both ends of the ball against England and won a crucial penalty that arguably should have won France the game.

21. Sebastien Bezy - 5

Got just 20 minutes to show what he can do as the replacement was made before extra time kicked off.

The two periods of extra time was spent with the two sides trading kicks.

Bezy didn't disappoint with his boot and didn't get to show off his blistering pace.

22. Louis Carbonel - 7

A man that looks fearless to step up at key times in matches, Carbonel slotted a testing penalty and added another which should have given France the win.

The 21-year-old kicked well overall and made all of his attempted 8 tackles.

23. Pierre-Louis Barassi - 5

Continued from where Danty left off. The traffic in the 12 channel made it difficult for him to make ground.