He is one of the basic men of the XV of France, captain of the defense. For the fifth time in this Six Nations Tournament, Gaël Fickou should start in the center for the reception of England, Saturday March 19 at 9 p.m. (live on France 2 and on france.tv). The Racing 92 player, 70 caps, assured him on Wednesday March 16 at a press conference, France “think only of victory” against the XV of the Rose. This result would offer a Grand Slam behind which the Blues have been running since 2010.
This match against England looks a bit like the dream poster. What does he represent for you?
Gaël Fickou: These are always big games against these English. They will do everything to bring us down. We would have done the same in their place! We expect a big match, with a lot of fighting, aggressiveness… We know them, each time it’s very tough matches against them. I have no doubt that it will be a very dangerous team but we also have the weapons to win this match. The goal is to win all the matches and there is one last one left.
How do you manage the enormous expectations faced with this first Grand Slam in twelve years, which is reaching out to France?
We do not protect ourselves from it. We simply live with it, we are happy that there is a wait. Before, we grumbled because we weren’t supported, because we were criticized a lot… There, we feel supported by our supporters, with a rather incredible atmosphere. Hope it lasts. I hope we will give them this title this weekend.
D-4! #FRAANG #XVdeFrance #Don’tDoXV pic.twitter.com/zpzbeQNhqU
– France Rugby (@FranceRugby) March 15, 2022
Afterwards, we must remain humble, continue to work. We have one stage left and if we fall this weekend, it will be a lot less fun, you have to be aware of that too. But I really believe in it, I really think we can do it. We only think of victory. The only possibility for us is to simply win.
How do you view the attitude of your opponents (third with 10 points), who no longer have any chance of winning the Tournament?
A wounded beast is always more dangerous, even if they are not going to revolutionize everything and become the team of the year in a week. They are going to be very dangerous because they always are. They have great qualities, we know that, so we try to prepare for all eventualities.
Afterwards, you never know what can happen in a match. Against the English, there have always been big matches, that’s for sure, with great victories, big defeats too, disappointments: this weekend, it could be one of our greatest victories.