2023-10-06 06:13:03
Finally the end of the tunnel. Fifteen days after the assured spectacle against Namibia (96-0), the XV of France is impatient at the idea of returning to the field this Friday, October 6 for its final and decisive group match against Italy. Two weeks without putting on the crampons is a long time, but the management and the Blues have negotiated the break as best they can and display calm determination. No particular moods or unforeseen tensions, even when dealing with the Antoine Dupont “case”.
The return to the group of the convalescent French captain, in the middle of the fortnight, did not cause any major upheaval, the management endeavoring to provide educational transparency cutting short potential rumors or twisted interpretations. Thus, the players did not go into endless comments on their number 9, his replacement to lead the troops with the captain’s armband against Italy, Charles Ollivon, summarizing: “Everyone was keen to stay together to compensate for his absence. » Of which act.
A welcome break
The Blues instead focused on a perfectly defined program last July. On the schedule, at the end of the twelfth week, just after Namibia, was a welcome break. “We had three “off” days during which we were able to enjoy our families, so that was quite pleasant and it did everyone good,” says fullback Thomas Ramos.
A succession of training and rest cycles, the same regime already followed in August. The Blues still benefited from two days of relaxation before tackling the more concrete preparation of Italy this week. “It’s a rhythm we’re used to following. We are not lost nor waiting,” specifies third row François Cros.
The players ultimately rather enjoyed the period, especially since in Aix-en-Provence, their base camp for almost all of this between matches, they benefited from relative tranquility rhyming with freedom. And the fellows allow themselves to sometimes lounge on the terrace of cafes or go window shopping without triggering any other demonstration than polite goodwill, also at work among the thirty or so fans who often camped in front of their hotel, the Renaissance, in search of autographs that the Blues never tired of granting.
“A hard core of players close in life”
They also did not have to be asked to cultivate their good image, on Thursday September 28, after training at the Georges-Carcassonne stadium in Aix, by going to meet some 2,200 fans gathered in the stands and testifying to the love rating of this team.
Nice still? Let’s say that, after the shock and fear after Antoine Dupont’s injury, the group very quickly got back on its feet. Attempt to explain by William Servat, co-coach in charge of the forwards: “I would say that, today, the luck that the French team has is to have a hard core of players close in life, from very close backgrounds, game leaders but also life leaders and friendship. »
This osmosis, the management has maintained for four years in this group, and the injuries, for the moment, do not change anything. “What we also have to remember is that after almost a month of competition, the 33 players who started this World Cup are still thereobserved on October 1 Karim Ghezal, co-responsible for the conquest of the Blues. We operate as a club. Some have small problems but no one has returned home permanently. »
Hope is still essential for Antoine Dupont, but also for Julien Marchand, even if, for the hooker hit in the thigh in the opening match against New Zealand, the recovery takes longer than expected, and is not guaranteed for the quarter-final. Because obviously, the quarter-final must be a question, even if, inevitably, no one in the management or in the team allows themselves to look down on the Italians exhausted a week earlier by the All Blacks (96-17 ).
Against the Italians, “we expect a very, very difficult match”
The Transalpines revealed enormous defensive problems, succeeding in only 64% of their tackles, and terrible deficiencies in conquest (six of their eleven touches and six of their lost scrums). But “from injured Latins, we expect a very strong reactioncommented on Wednesday October 4 Fabien Galthié. They made big adjustments to their team. They have everything to gain. We expect a very, very difficult match. » And Charles Ollivon evokes, rather than the Italian rout against the New Zealanders, the meeting in Rome in February 2023 at the opening of the Six Nations Tournament, where the Blues had struggled to win (29-24).
But why should the Blues tremble, since in the absence of Antoine Dupont they can count on a Maxime Lucu with lucky talent? The playmaker from Union Bordeaux-Bègles (UBB) has never lost with the French team. Not once during his 17 selections. Not even in the two matches where he was included on the scoresheet without entering the pitch. The Basque, however, is not a superstitious number 9. “Maxime has never disappointed ussupported Fabien Galthié. He is an unselfish player, a ninth forward when you have to fight, with exceptional footwork. »
In the absence of Antoine Dupont, executives close ranks
The complementarity with Matthieu Jalibert, his club partner, also weighed in the balance when putting together the team. And for the UBB opener, his teammate’s tenure cannot be contested: “I find Maxime serene since Antoine Dupont’s injuryjudged Matthieu Jalibert. He’s a hard worker. He didn’t ask himself many questions. »
Do not hesitate, move forward by adapting, but sure of the established plans, this is the credo of this French team, summed up by a coach for the moment always at ease with his “arrow of time” unchecked in Hossegor one day in December 2019: “Today, in terms of in-depth work, organization, match preparation, the eighth since August, we are where we wanted to be. »
Antoine Dupont is missing, of course, but the other executives are closing ranks. Anthony Jelonch returning to his starting position on the third line, Grégory Alldritt his role as demolitionist in chief, Damian Penaud his role as serial scorer – titillated by a young Louis Bielle-Biarrey on the other wing – and Charles Ollivon his captain’s stripes. “Great Charles”, already captain in 2020 and 2021 before a cruciate ligament rupture, returned. Like Anthony Jelonch, and maybe tomorrow Antoine Dupont. And Fabien Galthié wanted to pay tribute to this tenacity. “There are 33 of us, and we are all here. We like them. And we will have to count on us. »
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The Blues big favorites
In 47 confrontations between Italy and France, there are only three Italian victories, the last dating back to the 2013 Six Nations Tournament in Rome, 23-18 for the Transalpines. The previous two: in 2011 (22-21) and in 1997 (40-32).
The two nations have only met once in the World Cup, in the group stage in 2015, for a success for the Blues (32-10).
The composition of the team: Thomas Ramos, Damian Penaud, Gaël Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu, Charles Ollivon (cap.), Grégory Alldritt, Anthony Jelonch, Thibaud Flament, Cameron Woki, Uini Atonio, Peato Mauvaka, Cyril Baille .
The replacements: Pierre Bourgarit, Reda Wardi, Dorian Aldegheri, Romain Taofifenua, François Cros, Baptiste Couilloud, Yoram Moefana, Melvyn Jaminet.
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