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

Transition day for the French XV who will train out of sight before, at the end of the day, taking the TGV towards Lyon. Where he will play his final, decisive group match on Friday evening against Italy. The end of almost three weeks of vacation under the hot sun of Aix-en-Provence.

Injured in the cheekbone and fractured orbital floor, South African winger Makazole Mapimpi had to withdraw from the rest of the competition. A departure earlier than expected, announced by his coach Rassie Erasmus: “We will miss the rugby player, and he brings so much heart and honesty to the team. He trains so hard, never complains if he is not selected, he helps the young people. An extraordinary personality on and off the field, who will be missed by the Springboks.

Despite their World Cup which can already be described as a failure, with a more than likely elimination in the group stage, the Wallabies at least have the merit of having the best points scorer in their ranks. Ben Donaldson, the 23-year-old flyhalf, has 45 points scored since the start of the competition. With two tries, seven conversions and seven penalties, he is tied with Irishman Jonathan Sexton. However, he should not stay that way for very long since Australia is one game ahead of the Clover XV, but also over the Blues, with a certain Thomas Ramos who already has 41 points, just like the Englishman George Ford.

And yes, Syia Kolisi sometimes misses tackles! Let the Sunday players rest assured, even the captain of the Springboks, who was also celebrating his fiftieth captaincy, can sometimes end up with his butt on the ground. Below, his only missed tackle of the match against Tonga, won with a score of 49 to 18. The culprit, Ben Tameifuna and his 148 kg, a beautiful baby.