(Upper image) The British team's heroic ball protection. (Lower image) The thrilling scene of the French and British teams fighting for the ball. Images from France Info live broadcast. Since the French rugby team narrowly defeated the invincible New Zealand team, the colorful dream of blue in France has emerged again under the momentum of mass media publicity and the cheers and wild longing of the entire nation. With all of France strongly supporting the blue team, it is indeed true that life's dreams are most beautiful; dreams make the entire French society full of vitality and energy. Under this dream, the French national rugby team, like an iron ox with wings added, gained confidence and courage. On Saturday night, they welcomed the previous Rugby World Cup champion team, the British team (in 2003 in Sydney, Australia, Britain defeated France 24-7; France hoped to avenge this defeat in this match). France and Britain are often bitter rivals (as in international politics too); this is a century-old sporting event between France's Gallic rooster team and Britain's Rose team (the rooster and rose are national team emblems; look at the jersey patterns of these two teams to see). This week, almost all mass media extensively publicized how heroic France was, analyzing the strength and possible strategies of both teams. Generally, it was believed that since they could luckily defeat New Zealand, it was also possible to defeat Britain under this unique morale. Indeed, these two teams are often evenly matched, and whenever these bitter rivals meet, it is always an incredibly exciting life-and-death struggle.

This week, the entire French society waited for this life-and-death duel. Paris on Saturday was busier than usual, lively like a carnival. Fans from all over France and Britain flooded in. The streets and alleys in the city center were crowded everywhere. Groups of fans (many wearing the national blue shirts or draped in national flags) gathered. In many public places, people stood solemnly before large screens to welcome this nationally watched battle in the evening. When night fell and lights came on, the bustling city streets appeared sparse, suddenly becoming an empty city. Many people gathered under the large screens to watch collectively, or held their breath waiting in front of small TV screens. The match started promptly at 9 PM. Amidst the audience's cheers, the French blue-shirted team entered first, followed by the British white-shirted team. After the serious and stirring national anthem, this roaring battle began. Both teams faced the challenge with confidence and courage; only at the final moment would we know who would die. Very quickly, within less than two minutes, the blue-shirted team made a mistake, allowing the white-shirted team to score dramatically. A life-and-death struggle unfolded so fiercely. Both teams engaged in comprehensive face-to-face firepower attacks from left and right. France repeatedly broke through the British defensive line and obtained three penalty kicks. In the first fiery battle, they narrowly defeated Britain 9-8.

In the second half, amidst the fierce combat, the French team tried to break through Britain's impregnable defense with physical force, but it was cleverly neutralized. They inadvertently fell into Britain's strategy. Rugby suddenly turned into a back-and-forth kicking game like football. The French team was forced to make mistakes. Finally, after two penalty kicks, the outstanding kicking skills of Britain's star player Wilkinson, who never missed, crushed the French rooster 14-9 once again, shattering the French people's beautiful blue dream. After the match, French player Frederic Michalak said in an interview with reporters, "The British team's return passes waited for our mistakes. I think we should have adopted different strategic play; otherwise, we could have achieved better results." The entire metropolis instantly fell silent. The destruction of the blue dream meant the carnival ended in gloominess, concluding this dazzling starry night. (On Sunday, South Africa defeated Argentina 37-13. Next Friday night, France will face Argentina to decide the winner, to win back face as the host nation. Next Saturday, Britain's decisive battle against South Africa will be an incredibly exciting match. This is sports and entertainment.)