France recorded their biggest ever victory after hammering Namibia following their 96-0 win in the Rugby World Cup Pool A match in Marseille.
Dupont had scored a try and made two important cross-kicks, but he had to leave the pitch in the 46th minute because he hurt his right cheekbone in a head-on collision with Johan Deysel, who was then sent off.
In the first game of the tournament, the host country beat New Zealand 27–13. In the second game, a second-string team beat Uruguay 27–12. There was no extra point for either win.
Coach Fabien Galthie didn’t leave any room for doubt when he picked a full-strength team for their third pool match. They beat the Namibians in every aspect of the game, which led to a French record of 14 tries.
But Galthie’s talismanic skipper was taken to the hospital after the win, so Galthie may have paid a high price for the big win.
France now has 13 points from their three Pool A games, which is three more than second-placed Italy. Italy plays New Zealand on September 29 in Lyon, and France plays New Zealand on October 6 in Lyon. The race for the two automatic spots in the quarter-finals is coming to a head.
“The positives are the victory, points scored and none conceded in a serious match that was well executed by us,” Galthie said.
Asked about Dupont, Galthie said: “We will await the scans and in the meantime celebrate the beautiful victory.”
The victory happened at the Stade Velodrome, which is where the football team Olympique Marseille plays and is in a lot of trouble. On Saturday, Pope Francis will hold a huge mass there.
But Namibia’s hopes of finding spiritual guidance on the pitch where about 60,000 believers will gather for the papal audience quickly went up in smoke as France scored four tries in the first 21 minutes.
In 14 matches as France’s captain at home, Dupont has never lost a game. In the sixth minute, Penaud scored France’s first try by catching Dupont’s cross-kick.
Jonathan Danty’s second try came after he came back from an injury. It was set up by a great inside pass from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, and Charles Ollivon finished off a nice counterattack right after that.
Penaud’s second try gave France the attacking bonus point they wanted, and Danty’s try from close range came right after that.
After Anthony Jelonch broke away from a ruck, Thibaud Flament scored the home team’s sixth try. Dupont was the next player to cross the line, leaving Namibia with no answer to the speed and efficiency of the French.
Dupont’s second cross-kick of the game won the game for Bielle-Biarrey, and Ramos’ seventh conversion made the score 54-0 at halftime.
But the Toulouse scrum-half’s second half was cut short when Deysel hit him in the head during a tackle. Dupont had to leave the pitch for a head injury checkup, and the Namibia captain was shown a red card.
It also erased Divan Rossouw’s try to intercept the ball, which hurt Namibia even more.
Instead of Dupont, Baptiste Couilloud didn’t waste any time once he came on. Peato Mauvaka set him up for a try, and Namibia had to face the fact that they were one man short for the last 35 minutes.
Penaud scored his third try to tie Vincent Clerc (in 2007) and Ugo Mola (1999) for the most tries scored by France against Namibia at a World Cup. Winger Bielle-Biarrey scored his second try from a long way out.
Melvyn Jaminet and a late penalty try, along with 12 Ramos conversions, helped wrap up the game. Namibia’s World Cup losing streak is now at 25 games, thanks to the hosts.
