France winger Remy Grosso suffered a double facial fracture in his side’s 52-11 loss to New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday.
Gross suffered the injury in a combined tackle from All Blacks flanker Sam Cane and prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
The pair escaped any sanction for the tackle as referee Luke Pearce decided with television official George Ayoub that Tu’ungafasi’s tackle to the face warranted ‘just a penalty’.
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France also lost lock Paul Gabrillagues to a yellow card for a high tackle on Ryan Crotty in the second-half with the game tied at 11-11. New Zealand ran in seven tries unanswered following the second-row’s dismissal as the All Blacks opened France up to complete the rout.
France coach Jacques Brunel highlighted that the tackle on Grosso was illegal and that the yellow card ultimately led to Les Bleus collapse in the second-half.
“The injury of Remy Grosso is quite serious,” Brunel told reporters. “I don’t know precisely what the problem is but he is at the hospital.
“I think that the way he was done by the All Blacks pair was illegal.
“The yellow card was key. It was very hard to fight with the All Blacks after that.
“Yellow card or not yellow card, we had to deal with it.”
France captain Mathieu Bastareaud admitted that the yellow card to Gabrillagues in the 50th minute caused France to chase the game and that his side were ultimately taught a lesson.
“The first period, we were well in place. We managed to make them doubt (11-8 for France at the break). I think there was a lack of confidence in the second period,” Bastareaud told L’Equipe after the game.
“We may even be surprised to take the break. But as Jacques (Brunel, the national coach) said, we take this yellow card (51) and we spend our time chasing after. New Zealanders do simple things but very well.
“This kind of matches are played on details. This is the case: a missed tackle, a lack of communication in defense. It does not forgive. But I repeat: it’s a privilege to be here. We lost the first match (52-11)hard enough.
“We have two left. We took a lesson. We have two games left to show something else. This is the chance we have. Now, after a week, say it’s going to be long, I think it’s wrong.
“It is precisely in these moments that we must remain in solidarity and move forward. We have a big week of work waiting for us after the debriefing.
“It’s going to be hard to digest tonight, but I personally trust this group and its ability to react. We will have to show a lot of pride and pride next week. ”
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