France bow out of Rugby League World Cup

France's Rugby League World Cup journey has come to an end after suffering a 62-4 defeat at the hands of Samoa on Sunday Night. The French fell victim to a ruthless Samoa side that crossed for 11 tries during an utterly dominant performance at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. 

It was a disappointing end to France's World Cup campaign after beginning the tournament with a promising win against Greece. But defeats to tournament hosts England and a vastly improved Samoa forced France out of the tournament ahead of the first set of knock out fixtures.

Despite the overwhelmingly one-sided scoreboard, France head coach and incoming St Helens assistant coach, Laurent Frayssinous, was adamant that the French national side is heading in the right direction both on and off the field.

"We need to be better the next time we play this type of team - especially around the ruck. But at the end of the day, I don't want people to summarise our World Cup with the scoreboard. The boys have been great on and off the field for the last four weeks, but tonight didn't go our way.

"It was a tough night for us, but we keep on building and that's why we're here - we did some good things against Greece, against Tonga [before the World Cup], against England and tonight it is what it is. We will learn from that."

For France, all eyes now turn to the next Rugby League World Cup in 2025 - they are set to host the showpiece event 71 years after hosting the first ever Rugby League World Cup back in 1954.

?? Allez Les Bleus!

It wasn't to be for France, who battled hard and showed real potential against some of the tournament's strongest sides.

See you in 2025, when you'll have a passionate French home crowd behind you.#RLWC2021 | @FFRXIII pic.twitter.com/IdQcl28l7Q
— Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) October 30, 2022

From Catalans Dragons' rise to prominence in recent seasons to Toulouse Olympique's maiden Super League season in 2022, Rugby League in France has gone from strength to strength over the past decade. Now, the focus is on ensuring the national team continues to improve ready to go at least one step further at the next World Cup in 2025. 

"That's what we've discussed with the boys and with Trent [Robinson] as well - it's about how we will be in the quarter finals in 2025 - one step above tonight," explained Frayssinous after France's defeat to Samoa. 

"The first thing is learning from tonight - it's all about the small details that we didn't do right. It's not about the behaviour of the boys or not being willing - the boys have been great. It's about learning the small details at this level that you can and can't afford to do. It's about that and we've got three years to work on that."