European Union
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France vs Ireland
Match scheduled:
Date: 09-10-2010 Time: 13:15 until 15:15
Alitalia European Cup 2010
France came of age during the 1950s and 1960s: they won their first Five nations championship and completed a successful tour of South Africa. Their first championship was won in 1954 when they shared the title with England and Wales. France won their first outright Five Nations championship in 1959; they won with three wins and a draw (against England).
France became the first nation to tour South Africa winning the test series in 1958. The Springboks also visited Paris in 1961, the test was not completed due to onfield fighting amongst the players. France also toured New Zealand and Australia in 1961 losing both tests against the All Blacks but defeating Australia's Wallabies. They won their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1968 by beating all four other competing teams, and won numerous titles in the following years.[9]
France playing Wales during the Six Nations Championship.
In 1977 they won their second Grand Slam, fielding an unchanged side throughout the tournament.[9] They also defeated the All Blacks in Toulouse that year, but lost the return match in Paris.[10] On Bastille Day, 1979 they defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time, at Eden Park in Auckland.[11]
In 1981 the French clinched their third Grand Slam; at Twickenham against England.[9] They again completed a Grand Slam in 1987 on the eve of the first Rugby World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand. In that tournament they came from behind numerous times to defeat the Wallabies in their semi-final, and faced the All Blacks in final at Eden Park, Auckland; France lost 29–9. They shared the Five Nations with Wales the next year, and also won it in 1989.
France hosted some of the tests during the 1991 World Cup, but made their exit from the after being knocked out by England at the Parc des Princes (Paris) in their quarter-final. One Five Nations championship was won in the early 1990s, in 1993. The following year France won a test series 2–0 in New Zealand in the 1994.[12] They were knocked out of the 1995 World Cup semi-finals by eventual champions the Springboks, but did win their third place play-off match against England. France played the All blacks in two tests, winning the first 22-15 at Toulouse and lost the second 37-12 at Paris. France won back-to-back Grand Slams in 1997 and 1998. At the 1999 World Cup they defeated tournament favourites the All Blacks in the semi-finals, but lost to the Wallabies in the final.
The Five Nations Championship was expanded in 2000 to include Italy. In the now Six Nations Championship France won a Grand Slam in 2002.[9] At the 2003 World Cup in Australia they qualified for the semi-finals where they were defeated by eventual champions England. In 2004 they won a second Six Nations Grand Slam which was followed by a Championship win in 2006 and successful defence in 2007. In opener of the World Cup 2007, Argentina defeated France 17–12, however after defeating Ireland 25–3 they qualified for the quarter-finals. After defeating the All Blacks 20–18 they lost to England 14–9 in their semi-final. They then lost for a second time to Argentina 34-10 in the third place match. In 2010, France won its ninth Grand Slam.
SOURCE BY WIKIPEDIA
