France, 1987

With the tricolore down the sleeves and the traditional Adidas trefoil, this 1987 number is arguably the quintessential French jersey. Synonymous with the Pelé of rugby and worn in the game of the century, could this be the greatest French World Cup shirt?  

 Thank God for Adidas. By 1987, rugby may have developed enough to organise its first international competition, but team jerseys were still largely plain and uninteresting. The All Blacks could be forgiven given that, well, they’re the All Blacks, but the ultra-traditional designs reflected the amateur status of the game. But, with Adidas on board for Australia, Romania, Italy and France, at least a splash of flair was brought to the field.

It was the French side, however, featuring the likes of Serge Blanco, Didier Camberabero, Philippe Sella and Franck Mesnel, that best matched style with substance. Off the back of a winning the Five Nations Grand Slam earlier, they came into the tournament with high hopes. The hosts, New Zealand and Australia, were touted as the strong favourites, but Les Blues made the first-ever Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand at Eden Park.

With their crucial opening game coming against Scotland, it was actually in their alterative strip, a white shirt with blue shorts and red socks, that they made their tournament debut. A star-filled Scotland side awaited, with whom they’d shared the Five Nations title the year before, their group stage clash aptly finishing in a 20-20 draw.

Romania and Zimbabwe were France’s other two competitors in the group. Having scored three tries to Scotland’s two in their drawn fixture, all France just needed to win their remaining games to ensure a first-place finish. This was crucial; whoever came second was likely to face the All Blacks in the knockout rounds. Back in their traditional blue, France defeated Romania by 55-12 before demolishing Zimbabwe 70-12, securing a quarter-final contest with Fiji and leaving Scotland to suffer a 30-3 loss at the hands of the hosts.

However, for France it was the might of Australia in the semi’s. In their meeting the year before it had been a straightforward 14-27 victory for the Wallabies, so it was going to take some performance to overturn a side with a backline featuring David Campese, Michael Lynagh and Nick Farr-Jones on Sydney soil.

But powered by a revitalised scrum, the French managed to keep within touching distance. Australia led 9-0 despite France’s dominance but Alain Lorieux’s rip stole the ball from the Wallabies to sneak in for a score, one that turned the game in their favour. Camberabero found his kicking boots as the lead swapped hands six times with the score 24-21 in the closing stages. The, up stepped Blanco. With the Wallabies defence in panic mode, France showed the slick hands to help the fullback slide over for the game winning score, an iconic moment in World Cup history from one of the greatest to ever play the game.

France fell short of the ultimate prize with a 29-9 loss to New Zealand in the final, the first of three losses at the final hurdle. On home soil, they can’t let 2023 pass them by.