France-Uruguay (27-12): “We are not here to make clean copies,” says Fabien Galthié

2023-09-15 00:53:07

Despite the sad performance of his players, sluggish winners of Uruguay (27-12) without bonus during their second match in this World Cup after the victory against the All Blacks (27-13), coach Fabien Galthié tried to be positive.

What does this narrow success inspire you?

FABIEN GALTHIÉ. First, victory is important. Especially when we see the scenario of this match which we did not control. The players wanted to do well but Uruguay gave us a lot of problems.

What lessons do you learn?

When hot, it’s difficult. We will take the time to recover well. There is the satisfaction of having won this match in front of this fantastic audience. It was also the return of Anthony Jelonch.

Is this the least controlled match of your mandate?

This is the 41st match. What is important is victory. I told the players: Let’s win the match! We are not here to give demonstrations or to produce clean copies. We fulfilled our mission. The most frustrated are the players. But let’s respect the opponent.

Are you questioning the refereeing when you were penalized in the scrum?

I don’t allow myself to talk about arbitration. We always want things to go well. We work for that. The scrum was a reward at times and at times it was punished. We will go back to the basics and see with William Servat (the assistant coach in charge of the scrum).

“There are no injuries, that’s the first positive point”

How did you find your opener Antoine Hastoy?

Hot, it’s too difficult to analyze. It was not an easy context for him in managing the match. I’m glad he played.

The revised XV of France had until then always given satisfaction. Is there a regression?

I am satisfied with the victory. The players returned to the locker room frustrated. We will work on it to improve points. You have to play these matches when you don’t know the opponent. We were hampered by the Uruguay team who had prepared their plan well. But in the end, we won.

Did the atmosphere suit you?

You have to ask the players. We, in the stands, were with the public. We are not indifferent. We are very happy to have played in the North, a territory where we don’t play often.

After this sluggish victory, will your plans change?

There are no injuries, that’s the first positive point. There is material to work with. The plan is in motion and it’s going rather well, but a World Cup is a long-term adventure. Each match is a test. We’re still going to spend a lot of time together, we’re going to make the team even better.