Fifteen thousand people cram into this tiny stadium, on a miserable night, as the Rugby World Cup continues to impress. The enthusiasm of everybody for rugby is quite astonishing and not even driving rain can deter the crowds.
The Canadians arrive at this match full of joie de vivre having beaten Tonga 4 days ago, but backing up so soon against such a classy opponent will be a challenge.
O Canada strike first and fast from the boot of James Pritchard and enjoy a lead of 3-0 for a few minutes.
The terrible conditions mean we don't see much flowing rugby in the first half, but we do see two superbly executed up and unders in the first ten minutes.
Tries to Les Bleus's Vincert Clerk and the Canuck's Ryan Smith cancel each other out. And the game is still in Canada's favour after 7 minutes. 10-7.
Following Smith's try, grown men who look like Grizzly Bears hug and nearly cry with delight
The game is an incredible see saw of fortunes and emotion. The brave Canadian woodsmen compete valiantly with the French all through the first half, only to see them usurp their lead in the final minutes.
They head to the break 19-10. Sadly for Canada, had their kicker James Pritchard been more accurate they could be on level terms.
As the conditions clear in the second half, the French quality begins to become apparent.
The Canadians hang in there with two drop goals to Ander Munro, but the classy French backs take over.
Damien Traille bags a try before Clerk completes a hattrick in the last play of the match. Incidentally, this is Clerk's second hattrick in a world cup, becoming only the second player to achieve this. Tres bon.
The final score flatters France to an extent, but had the match been played in dry conditions it may have been much worse for Canada. The French could pose the All Blacks much sterner resistance next Saturday.
Final score: France 46 - Canada 19
19 games 96 tries
Tweet of the match- "Save a beaver, eat a frog!" @MelenieNZ
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