Rugby World Cup: the Blues newspaper, the phrase of the day, the number

The Blues returned to the field at the end of the day on Monday after three days off spent with their loved ones. A session in which Grégory Alldritt took part, recovered from his knee discomfort which forced him to forfeit against Namibia. Other good news, hooker Julien Marchand, injured in the hamstring during the opening match against the All Blacks, returned to racing this Monday for a resumption of collective training at the end of the week. He applies for the match against Italy on October 6 in Lyon.

This Tuesday, new training open to the press at 4:45 p.m. at the Georges Carcassonne stadium. At 7 p.m., the Blues will be received at City Hall by the mayor of Aix-en-Provence, Sophie Joissains. Speeches and a little crowd bath for the players before thanking the town and its inhabitants for welcoming them for almost three weeks.

After the Wallabies' defeat against Wales on Sunday evening (6-40), almost synonymous with elimination, Eddie Jones did not act proud. Present at a press conference, he asked Australian rugby fans for forgiveness: “I would like to apologize to Australian supporters. I take full responsibility for this result. [...] It is very painful". Indeed, it is the first time in the history of the World Cups that its selection has been eliminated in the group stages. Despite everything, the former finalist in the competition with England did not seem demotivated: “I have the will and the ability to continue,” he said. “I am proud to be Australia coach.” One thing is certain, for him or another, there is work to be done.

Against Tonga, Scotland had to win in order to continue to believe in qualification. And the XV du Chardon achieved a solid success, winning with a score of 45 to 17. Winger Van der Merwe, the real captain of his selection, produced a major performance, notably authoring a try. But above all he beat 14 defenders, the highest total by a Scot in the history of the World Cup. It’s even the fourth best total for all selections combined. Only Vilimoni Delasau (24 in 2003), Seru Rabeni (15 in 2003) and Jonah Lomu (15 in 1995) did better. Enough to make the Romanians, Scotland's next opponents, tremble. See you on September 30 at 9:00 p.m.

The green tide. How else to describe these waves of Irish people who came to support their team? Present en masse at the Stade de France on Saturday evening for their team's victory against the South Africans, the supporters of the Clover XV gave their voice, during the match of course, but also at the final whistle. We could hear more than 30,000 Irish people singing the song “Zombie” by Cranberries A Capella. A great moment shared with the players on the pitch, many of whom were overcome by emotion.

Like every day, Le Figaro invites you to learn a little more about the world of ovals:

Why did England choose a rose as its emblem?