France hosted last year's World Cup, winning home honors and the first-ever Webb Ellis Cup with a victory over the nation supporting Fabien Galthie's side.
A comprehensive 27-13 victory over New Zealand ignited patriotic enthusiasm as captain Antoine Dupont believed he could lead France to victory on home soil.
However, those hopes were brutally dashed in the quarter-finals as eventual champions South Africa won a nail-biting 29-28 victory, ruthlessly banishing Dupont and his team from the competition.
The reaction in France was nothing but disappointment. Grieving fans and pundits slammed what they saw as an injustice, claiming the refereeing performance by New Zealander Ben O'Keeffe cost his country a chance of victory.
While the nation was reeling from defeat, some of the criticisms crossed the line.
Springbok scrumhalf Kobus Reinach, who is plying his trade with Top 14 club Montpellier, received death threats after praising O'Keeffe and his assistants for handling the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the match.
After the loss to the Springboks, Galthie insisted he had “no regrets”. “We did everything we could to maximize our potential.”
That possibility must now turn to the Six Nations, with France starting the tournament with the World Cup final against Ireland that many neutral observers had hoped for and even expected.
Expectations were high for the Irish going into the World Cup, fresh off their Grand Slam win at last year's Six Nations, but they faced New Zealand in another exciting quarter-final, with as much planning as Goalcy. He left manager Andy Farrell. I was licking my wounds in disappointment.
“It was a time of sadness for us,” Galthie admitted.
“It's very disappointing considering four years of hard work and four years of accomplishment with an 80 percent win record.
“The only goal we wanted to achieve was to become world champions. There was nothing else.”
France will be without Dupont for the Six Nations, but the combative scrum-half has opted to play for the national rugby sevens team ahead of this year's Paris Olympics.
“As always with the Six Nations, it's like going back to school, but we're not starting from scratch,” Galthie said of the preparations for European rugby's marquee tournament.
“While it is a fresh start, it also feels a bit like continuing the efforts of the past four years.
“We've lost two games in the last two years, but we've won a lot, so it's interesting to get back on this common path.”
Gregory Aldritt will take over as captain from Dupont, but Anthony Geronci, who stood in at scrum-half when he was injured at the World Cup, will miss the Six Nations with a knee injury.
Galthie named several uncapped players in his new 34-man squad, including Racing 92's Nolan Le Garrec, who will compete with Maxime Luk for the starting scrumhalf spot.
Other new additions are Racing half-back Antoine Gibert, Toulon team-mate and back-rower Esteban Abadi, lock Mathias Halagaf and Bordeaux Begles' young center Nicolas Deportaire.
Stade Français Roc's Paul Gabriag has been called up for the first time since the 2019 World Cup.
Among the key players missing through injury are fly-half Romain Ntamak, lock Thibaut Flamand and hooker Pierre Bourgarit.
Flanker Sekou Makalu, playmaker Antoine Hastoy and winger Gabin Villiers were all part of last year's World Cup campaign but have been left out by Galthie.
France will need a strong performance against Ireland to bring a good feel to the squad that Galthie has built since taking over in 2019.
In Dupont's absence, all eyes will be on Aldritt's ability to fill the captain's spot left by what many agree is the best player in the world at the moment, while Luuk and Le Garrec will be under pressure to play halfback alongside Mathieu Jalibert. will be exposed to. .
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Emmanuel Dunant/AFP
