France will be looking to end their 2024 Autumn Nations Series on a positive note when they take on Argentina at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday night.
The hosts enter this match off the back of a thrilling one-point victory over New Zealand last week, while the visitors came up three points short in Dublin against Ireland.
Match preview
© Imago
Last weekend delivered one of the best matches of the Autumn Internationals, as France managed to turn a 17-10 halftime deficit into a 30-29 victory over New Zealand, marking their third straight win over the three-time world champions.
Romain Buros, Paul Boudehent and Louis Bielle-Biarrey all crossed the whitewash for France last week, while Thomas Ramos delivered a flawless kicking display, ending the match with a 15-point haul.
The All Blacks had 63% possession in that match and forced their hosts to make 209 tackles compared to their own 111, but in doing so, Le Bleus reduced their opponents to just four penalty goals in the second half.
Still, it was not a perfect performance from Les Bleus, but the hallmark of a great team is finding ways to win even when not at their best - much like the Springboks have demonstrated over the past two weeks.
However, it is certainly not the time for France to start patting themselves on the back just yet, as they have one more major hurdle to overcome in the form of Argentina, who have arguably been one of, if not, the most improved side in world rugby over the last year.
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Indeed, Argentina are now ranked fifth globally and are set to face this opponent for the third time this year, with their two previous matches coming during the mid-year Tests, which they split a win apiece.
Following the July internationals, Los Pumas beat all of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia during the 2024 Rugby Championship where they passed the Wooden Spoon on to the Wallabies and only narrowly missed out on finishing in second place.
Felipe Contepomi's side then kicked off the Autumn internationals with a commanding 50-18 victory over familiar foes Italy on November 9 before pushing Ireland to the limit last Friday in Dublin.
The Shamrocks held a 13-point lead heading into the half-time interval, but after the break, Los Pumas came storming back and had their opponents on the ropes, though they came up just short in the end, losing the match 22-19.
Nevertheless, although Argentina left the Aviva Stadium empty-handed, Contepomi will quietly take pride in his team's performance in Dublin, and if they can repeat that performance this week with a few minor tweaks, we could be in for a gripping 80 minutes.
France form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Argentina form (all competitions):
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
Team News
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Galthie has made four changes to the side that he sent out against the All Blacks last week, with the most notable being the exclusion of Gregory Alldritt, who has been dropped from the matchday 23.
Charles Ollivon is brought in to replace Alldritt at number eight, while Uini Atonio comes in for the injured Tevita Tatafu at tighthead and Francois Cros rejoins the lineup after clearing his return-to-play protocols, pushing Alexandre Roumat to the bench.
Contepomi has made just one change to the starting 15 that ran Ireland to the wire last week, but there are three notable names added back to Los Pumas' bench in Marcos Kremer, Lautaro Bazan Velez and Mateo Carreras, who missed the side's two previous games this month.
The sole change in the starting lineup sees Gonzalo Garcia replacing Gonzalo Bertranou at scrum-half. Juan Cruz Mallia will start at fullback, flanked by Rodrigo Isgro and Bautista Delguy on the wings.
France starting lineup: 15 Leo Barre, 14 Gabin Villiere, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Charles Ollivon , 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Alexandre Roumat, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Marko Gazzotti, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Emilen Gailleton
Argentina starting lineup: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomos Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Juaqin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16, Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Marcos Kremer, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Santi Carreras, 23 Mateo Carreras
We say: France 28-21 Argentina
After beating this opponent in their last encounter and delivering that incredible performance in Dublin last week, Argentina will arrive in Paris in fine spirits and should provide France with a proper challenge this weekend.
However, Le Bleus are starting to reestablish themselves as a true global powerhouse, and we feel that they will be able to withstand Los Pumas' pressure here and end the year with a victory.
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Devesh Jaganath
