2023-10-17 20:19:14
The defeat of the French XV in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup against South Africa plunged an entire country into deep sadness. The Blues staff is no exception to this rule. Deeply touched, Shaun Edwards, defense coach, gave his impressions in his column in le Daily Mail. And the Englishman did not hide his immense disappointment, claiming to be “still in a state of shock”.
“One minute you’re at camp, surrounded by media, everything going 100 miles an hour. The next moment you’re back at home and it’s silent, he noticed. When I returned, I went for a walk on the beach to collect my thoughts and I felt an empty feeling inside me. We put so much into this World Cup campaign and suddenly it’s over. »
“Total desolation” in the locker room
Players and staff members will need time to digest this cruel elimination. “It will take us a long time to recover,” assured Shaun Edwards. These players will not have another chance to play a World Cup at home during their career and it ended prematurely by a razor-thin margin. »
Fabien Galthié’s assistant also looked back on the minutes which followed the defeat, in the privacy of the locker room of the XV of France. “It was total desolation,” he said. The silence. Fabien Galthié spoke to the guys about how far we’ve come over the past four years, but we were all hoping it would end differently. The players didn’t say much. Thomas Ramos came to me and apologized, but I don’t know why. I told him he had been fantastic and that he had nothing to apologize for. »
Looking towards 2027
Shaun Edwards did not hesitate to give his opinion on the refereeing and on the forward potential of Eben Etzebeth, which according to him is the turning point of the match. “We dominated the first half,” he said. We didn’t have to defend much because our offense was so good. I feel like if we had scored a second try at 7-0 when the referee made a decision on a knock-on, and he was the one responsible, the result would definitely have been different. »
The Englishman was still optimistic for the future, as a large part of the team will still apply for participation in the 2027 World Cup in Australia. “A lot of our players will still be here in 2027, which is a little reassuring,” said Shaun Edwards. I hope to be able to continue working with Fabien and complete my contract to still be there in four years. Having another chance at the World Cup may help ease the pain for some in the long run, but there’s nothing like a home competition. » In the meantime, it’s time for the Six Nations Tournament which can already put the Blues back on track.
#feeling #emptiness #member #staff #France #devastated #defeat #Blues