2023-08-20 08:11:51
A great victory, no injuries, substitutes who shine but no revolution in the group of French rugby players who are preparing for the World Cup. After the victory of the Blues against Fiji (34-17), Saturday at the Beaujoire stadium in Nantes, for this 3rd match of preparation for the World Cup (September 8-October 28), coach Fabien Galthié turned, in conference release, towards the next deadline: the announcement on Monday of the 33 players selected for the event.
Are you reassured by this victory?
FABIEN GALTHIE. It was a preparation match and this type of match helps us raise our level of rugby, in addition to what we do during the week. We felt during the week that the team was switching, that the whole group swung into another dimension, both tactically and in solidarity, ingredients that were necessary to stand up to this team from Fiji.
Do you feel a surge in power?
Yes, we are evolving. In July, we were on a month without a match. Then, in August, we trained for the competition, to prepare to chain the matches, with different profiles of teams, opponents. I won’t talk about Romain’s injury (Ntamack, editor’s note) nor that of Cyril (Baille) but everything that happened, it prepares us and makes us improve our skills collectively. Let it be us, the staff, to manage scenarios like that, tension, difficult decisions to make. And the players too. Tonight, we lined up a team that didn’t have a lot of selections but a lot of collective experience, thanks to the 42-team formula. This kind of match helps to showcase these players.
“Each player knows his position more or less”
Will this match give you headaches before announcing the list on Monday?
If we wait until Sunday to make the list, it’s because we haven’t done anything for four years. We try to work in a coherent way. Each player knows his position approximately. Each player was able to exchange, and, through these exchanges, know the potential decision. This list of 33, you make it an event but there could be some who will not be there at the start, who will not be in the 33 and who will be the heroes of this competition. There have already been examples. There, the idea is to build a group that will have to be amputated by a dozen players. But these players are part of the France group no matter what.
It will still be special to announce it, to part with players?
We have a calendar obligation, which is to go to 33. We knew it. But we are ready. Everything is ready. Today, a priori, there are no injuries. We had also planned the possibility of modifying according to the injured, we had this margin of error of 2 days before formalizing the group. But everything is ready.
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