Rugby news continues to be in full swing at the 2023 World Cup, with Pool A seeing the teams of France and Uruguay clash. After an impressive opening victory against the All Blacks, the French XV rotates its squad to face the Uruguayan team, considered more modest.
Coach Fabien Galthié decided to make twelve changes to his starting XV, resting the team’s executives and thus offering an opportunity for new players to shine. This rotation will also preserve the players’ energy for future matches.
Among the changes, we find Anthony Jelonch, returning from injury, who will have the honor of wearing the captain’s armband for this match. A real consecration for the Toulouse player, who worked hard during his rehabilitation to return to 100% of his abilities. He says he is ready to give everything to lead his teammates to victory.
On the Uruguayan side, the team led by Esteban Meneses is aware of the difficulty of the task that awaits them against a largely favorite French team. Nevertheless, the Uruguayans intend to take advantage of this match to display their progress and demonstrate their ability to compete with high-level teams. Their aim is to gauge themselves and identify areas in which they will need to improve for the following matches against Italy and Namibia.
Uruguay, which is participating in its fifth World Cup final phase, knows that it has already created a surprise in the past. In 1999, they won against Spain, and in 2019, they beat Fiji. The Uruguayan players, mainly from the Penarol Rugby franchise, have acquired a certain experience and today aim to offer an offensive game and not come under pressure from their opponents.
This match between France and Uruguay therefore promises to be interesting in more than one way. On the one hand, the Blues seek to confirm their status as favorites and have a string of successes, while on the other, the Uruguayans hope to rally minds by offering a daring game. Head to the field to see which team will have the upper hand in this Pool A match of the 2023 World Cup.