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French ten’s break may not have ended in a try, but it summed up all that is glorious about France
Was Romain Ntamack run from in-goal moment of the autumn series?
Did it end in a try? No. But indulge us. This moment of unscripted nonsense was so absorbing, so exhilarating, that there is an argument to make that Romain Ntamack’s run from his own in-goal against the All Blacks (with just two points in it) was the moment of the autumn.
This was the glorious attacking spirit we love to see from France. And the All Blacks could do nothing about it.
It’s why we love this game, it’s why we love watching France… 🤩#FRAvNZL #AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/TV6bQFLf4O
— Autumn Nations Series (@autumnnations) November 20, 2021
And as you will see from the below, it fired plenty of imaginations…
What an absolutely incredible day of rugby
In many ways, delighted that France came through after being tested
Romain Ntamack with the performance of his career. That counter-attack up there with the greatest moments I’ve seen on a rugby pitch#FRAvNZLpic.twitter.com/82QYAhi0ii
— Paul Eddison (@pauleddison) November 20, 2021
Always tough to live up to when your dad was a legend in any sport, Romain might be better… 🤫🇫🇷
— 🇫🇯💉Simon Raiwalui💉🇫🇯 (@SimonRaiwalui) November 21, 2021
ROMAIN NTAMACK THAT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE SEEN IN MY GODDAMN LIFE
— Squidge Rugby (@SquidgeRugby) November 20, 2021
Ntamack wins the game here for France. Pure and simple https://t.co/xj7R8eUI3E
— Gerard Meagher (@gerard_meagher) November 20, 2021
That was my favourite 20 seconds of rugby this year. Romain Ntamack is unreal.
— James Gemmell (@JamesGemmell_TV) November 20, 2021
So was it the moment of this November stretch? Or, as James Gemmell says, the year? Well let’s look at the autumn. France women won two in a row against the Black Ferns – as did England women, who also drew an audience of one million to watch the Red Roses on BBC Two. It was incredible to see Chile stun Russia at the death.
England edged the Springboks in ans instant classic while heroic Ireland beat New Zealand for only the third time (putting in a superb, 80-minute performance to do so).
It wasn’t all glorious play. Off the pitch we had the furore over Eddie Jones’s Emma Raducanu critique and of course we saw Rassie Erasmus banned from rugby for two months.
But we also had Ewan Ashman’s try on Scotland debut, plus an incredible Courtney Lawes try-saving tackle and a remarkable Louis Rees-Zammit finish against Fiji.
There were plenty of sublime moments – and ridiculous ones – and we’ve barely scratched the surface. So tell us what you made of it all. Either hit us up on rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or drop us a comment or two on our social media channels.
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