2023-10-07 01:04:40
The coach appeared relaxed at a press conference, three-quarters of an hour after the end of the match against Italy at Groupama Stadium in Décines this Friday evening. Flanked by his captain Charles Ollivon, Fabien Galthié expressed his satisfaction with the magnitude of the score (60-7) and stressed that for him, the quarter-final at the Stade de France on Sunday October 15 would constitute a real World Cup final. .
What are your first impressions after this smooth victory?
FABIEN GALTHIE. It’s a successful match. There was a major challenge in qualifying. We had won our first three matches but we had to win. This was done and the score also satisfies me, as does the fact of having been able to involve all 23 players.
Can you tell us about the performance of your forwards?
The conquest was positive. The melee, the touch. Overall in the match we were able to exert permanent pressure on Italy at this level.
Your defense seems to be improving…
It’s true. We are studying areas for improvement. We conceded 7 points, that’s consistent when you have ambition. The teams that can win this World Cup have a very tight defense. We try to suffer as little as possible without the ball.
How do you judge the performance of Damian Penaud, who scored his 34th and 35th tries?
The winger is the last player in a chain of skills. It’s the team that highlights it. Players who become great are always served by the team, individual performance is served by the collective, whatever the player.
You did not report any injuries against Italy…
We are always disappointed when players get injured with us. In the staff, we feel responsible, because it is our choice to align them, but not guilty. We prepared ourselves to lose players to injury. Julien Marchand and Antoine Dupont are injured but if they are still with us, it is because we are certain to find them in the competition.
Are you happy after this group stage?
Yes, we are very, very happy to have succeeded in this match, our qualifying phase, our 43 matches over the past four years. We will take advantage of this and then we will look towards the quarter-final which will be, after the opening match against the All Blacks (27-13 victory), a 2nd World Cup final. Our meeting next Sunday will clearly be a World Cup final.
It will undoubtedly be against South Africa…
Whoever the opponent is, for us it’s a final. On one side, there is the world champion (South Africa) who is in good shape and on the other the world number 1 (Ireland). The draw has done its work. It’s up to us to do our job (the French XV can also possibly face Scotland).
You have multiplied the long sequences…
That’s good but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to win the match, not to demonstrate. The important thing is that in the end we are in front. We’re here to win, that’s all.
#World #Cup #final #Fabien #Galthié #quarterfinal