After creating the event by inflicting the All Blacks with their first defeat in the group stage of the Rugby World Cup (27-13), Friday September 8 at the Stade de France, the Blues are preparing to take on a new challenge.
This Thursday, at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille (North), the XV of France will face Uruguay, the South American team nicknamed “Los Teros”, in reference to the name of the bird, the tero lapwing, present on their emblem. For the Uruguayans, this meeting will mark the start of the competition as they did not play on the first day due to the odd number of teams per pool.
The match will start at 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on TF1 with the commentator duo composed of journalist and former player François Trillo and former international Benjamin Kayser. Christian Califano, former French international, and consultant on TF1 since 2011, will officiate at the edge of the field. The first channel had 15.4 million viewers during the opening match.
Ranked 17th nation in the World Rugby rankings, Uruguay, led by their talented scrum-half Santiago Arata, who plays for Castres Olympique, will find themselves facing a France team that has been reshuffled compared to the first match. Anthony Jelonch will wear the captain’s armband.
This will be a great first for the two nations, who have never faced each other. The XV of France, under the direction of its coach Fabien Galthié, in search of world glory, will try not to be surprised in order to win first place in the group. Uruguay, led by their Argentinian manager Esteban Meneses, will look to surprise with their talent and determination.
