Without surprise, the three Rochelais Unini Atonio, Grégoy Alldritt and Jonathan Danty have been established for the fourth and penultimate round of the Six Nations Tournament on Friday evening (9 p.m.) in Wales. The XV of France dreams of a Grand Slam and it will first go through a victory among the defending champions, revengeful after a rocky tournament.
Fabien Galthié had to make changes to his starting 15 because of positive cases in the group. “Damian Penaud and Romain Taofifenua will not be traveling following positive tests this morning. We had been rather spared until then, but that’s the way it is. We have the resources to face Wales“, explained the coach of the Blues at a press conference in Marcoussis.
If Jonathan Danty (13 selections) has tested negative, he now cultivates a positive attitude. It must be said that the La Rochelle center sees life in blue at the moment. He whose adventure with the XV of France has not always been rosy. At 29, the Parisian by birth and Charente by adoption is today a fulfilled international who wants to aim very high.
Jonathan, how are you approaching this meeting in Wales?
Inevitably there is excitement, then we know that we are moving to the Principality Stadium (the Millennium in Cardiff). We know this stadium which is a bit mythical. We are going to play against the defending champions, so that inevitably adds spice to this confrontation. We will go there with arms to try to get a good result and maybe give ourselves the right to dream about the end of the Tournament.
The problem for the French team has long been efficiency in the brand zones. This is no longer the case. How to explain it?
I think we really manage to put a lot of tempo in the scoring areas, and to put the teams in difficulty. Afterwards, we have a system that allows us to score after several phases of play. This is what allows us to win matches today. Efficiency also comes from our conquest, from everything that happens before, everything that brings us to these concluding areas, the opposing 22 meters. It is above all everything that is done before that does not give a lot of freshness to score points.
What are the qualities of Wales and are you a little afraid of the wounded beast?
You have already answered it. Inevitably, it is an injured beast who had a rather difficult start to the tournament. Then, the qualities of this team, it is above all their game at the foot of pressure. We have seen that they tend to recover a lot of balls on this long pressure foot game and then it is thanks to this that they enter the opposing camp and manage to score points. We have been warned, we have had a lot of time to analyze everything they manage to put in place to put the teams in danger. We tried to prepare as well as possible to counter them at this level.
– ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP
One of the few coaches who believed in me and thought I could do something other than run into walls
Do you sometimes look back on the path taken, this long absence in the France team? And there, perhaps the possibility of winning a Grand Slam?
Yes I definitely realize that. I realized recently that I had more selections in one year than in the last eight years. Afterwards, it’s my own path and for once, I have no regrets. It’s that at some point, I may have eased up a bit. That’s what made me not at the level. So today, I’m there and I enjoy it 100%. So far, it’s not going too badly, so I’m still enjoying it. We’ll see, the road is still long, so it’s up to me to do my best to stay there.
Do we savor even more?
I love it (laughs). I gave up after the 2019 World Cup, I knew it was over. I know that there was a time when there were staff who came to the clubs precisely at the start of the mandate, and I had not been seen by the staff. So me from that moment, it was over. I said to myself that continue to progress and you will do it at least for your club and in the end, it went pretty well. They may change their view of the player I came from. Today, it allows me to be here. It took me a lot of effort, a lot of time too. But in the end, it’s for good times. So I have no regrets.
In concrete terms, what changed to get here?
It’s a fascinating subject (laughs). There is the return of Gonzalo (Quesada) to the Stade Français in Paris which did me a lot of good. It’s true that before, I knew coaches who asked me for a very restrictive game. It was part of my qualities, but I was locked into that style of play. And gradually with Gonzalo in particular, he asked me to progress a little, otherwise I wouldn’t play. I didn’t have much choice. And in the end, it worked pretty well. In fact, he had confidence in me, he is one of the rare coaches who believed in me and who thought that I could do something other than run into walls. Finally, he was not wrong. He wrote to me again last week after a show, that I had to thank him on TV (smiles). No, it’s cool, after there is also work. There are a lot of things that I came to trust a little late, but in the end, it’s never too late.
Wales – France, a match to live in full on France Blue La Rochelle Friday night. Kick off at 9 p.m.