An apathetic second period at Murrayfield (25-21 defeat), a close success at Saint-Étienne (30-27)… The XV of France wants to be reassuring, but the World Cup is fast approaching and it is making a start halftone preparation.
In Edinburgh, a week ago, the French, admittedly largely overhauled and deprived of scrum half Antoine Dupont, opener Romain Ntamack or third line Grégory Alldritt, had suffered a scathing 22-0 in forty minutes, which had cost them the victory (25-21). In Saint-Étienne, the French saw the XV du Chardon, carried by a Finn Russell in legs at the opening, come back to 27-27 with ten minutes remaining. And the Blues, still in the run-in, trembled until the penalty for winning, signed Thomas Ramos (79th).
Listening to Fabien Galthié, indeed, the temporary poor form of his flock was predictable: “Some players have not played together since March. We are in a physiological work that is not intended to “perform” today”. “Scotland have a month and a half of preparation ahead of us, that matters. The goal is to keep working. We have about four weeks left to prepare, we have to ramp up, ”said the coach of the Blues. “On the content of rugby, it was very interesting too: it allowed us to see what we were capable of doing, our offensive and defensive inabilities […] It was a perfect training match, “said he still assured.
Fatigue, lack of benchmarks… The Scots have also highlighted the shortcomings of the Blues, who are coming out of two big internships in Monaco or Marcoussis, in the Paris suburbs, and are now preparing for Capbreton, in the south-west of France. Despite everything, the XV of France ended up winning this match. This can only be beneficial mentally, especially since the talent is there: Antoine Dupont was once again stratospheric until his exit, the second row Cameron Woki showed himself in the rucks and on the tackle, the third line Charles Ollivon was thunderous in the game, intractable in defense and dominating in touch…
The upcoming return of third row Anthony Jelonch, operated after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in March, is good news. Because, in the home stretch before the opening gala match against the All Blacks, on September 8, the Blues will need all their vital forces. In the meantime, they have two warm-up games left to answer questions: against Fiji and Australia on August 19 and 27.
