France kicking coach Vlok Cilliers accepts that the Springboks were the better team, and Les Bleus weren’t prejudiced against in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Skipper Antoine Dupont criticised Kiwi referee Ben O’Keeffe’s officiating in the clash between France and South Africa in October, which the Boks, the eventual champions, won 29-28.
Analysing O’Keeffe’s performance, Joel Jutge, head of referees at World Rugby, and the governing body were convinced that France’s defeat wasn’t linked to the match official, and in a wide-ranging interview with Netwerk24, Cilliers agreed.
“A guy looks beyond those things to the facts,” Cilliers told Netwerk24. “You will then know that there were 20 minutes in the second half where we really dominated the Boks.
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“[But] we couldn’t convert that pressure into points. We scored too few points for the pressure we put them under.
“You move on, but Fabien [Galthie] always referred to every coach who gets a game that will haunt him psychologically for the rest of his life. This is our psychological scar for the rest of our lives.
“It was in France and one of the French teams that really had a good chance to achieve something in a World Cup tournament. In the end, the Boks played well, and did certain things better than us at certain times. All credit to them.”
The 55-year-old former Springbok also confirmed his commitment to assist France up to and including the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
He added: “It’s still special and a great honour to be involved with a national team, especially one that has regained respect in world rugby for the way it has played and improved over the last four years. It’s an exciting era ahead of us.”
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