Wales-France: Leek, the Blues digest it badly

And if the recent history between the two nations does not inspire confidence tricolor side, the work of Alteryx, an analyst software company that peeled statistics (shots, veneers, tests) of more than 1000 matches since 2007, confirm this impression. The software had announced, before the tournament, that the French would pass the group stage, which is done, but they would stop in the quarterfinals … stopped by the Welsh. In bookmakers, optimism is also not required. A XV du Coq victory is scored at 2.90 when a Welsh success is posted at 1.30.

To drive the point, the probabilities achieved by the US site Rugby Vision do not give them more hope to access the semi-finals. However, with a 32.7% chance of seeing the final square of the competition, on paper at least, the clash between Wales and France promises to be the least unbalanced poster of four quarters of the competition. final.

In the French ranks, the desire to thwart the predictions animates in any case the players of Jacques Brunel. "We are staying on a very bad run against the Welsh, it's time to end," said opener Romain Ntamack, marked by the incredible defeat (24-19) last February at the VI Nations while France led 16-0 at the break. "This match is a real work base, but do not stay focused on the past, the tournament goes back a long way and the two teams have since evolved, and you know, between a World Cup match and a match of the Tournament, there is a huge gap. "

Moreover, mistrust is on the side of the XV Leek. It is out of the question to take France over the leg. "It's a good stat (the 7 wins in 8 games, ed), but here we are talking about a World Cup finals.The past will not serve us too well," said Gareth Davies, the half Welsh melee. A comment supported by coach Warren Gatland: "In the World Cup, when everyone sees the Blues eliminated, they come out of performances that no one expects." He speaks knowingly, he was already favorite in the semifinals of the 2011 World Cup … lost to the Blues.