how the XV of France went from an attractive and conquering team to a suffering collective?

The French XV, unimpressive in its first two outings, faces Italy for its third match of the 2024 Tournament, Sunday (4 p.m. on France 2 and france.tv).

A balanced balance sheet, but few reasons for satisfaction. Fourth in the Six Nations Tournament after two days, with a crushing defeat at home against Ireland (17-38) and a close victory in Scotland (20-16), the XV of France did not reassure. In their last two matches, the Blues were particularly worried by the deployed, messy and sluggish play. Performances far from what they have been able to show since the arrival of Fabien Galthié in 2020 and which raise questions about the evolution and progression of the collective.

In this situation, we must first not forget the weight of the (numerous) absences which weigh on the France group. From Antoine Dupont, who will play his first 7s tournament in Vancouver (Canada) while his 15s teammates will battle against Italy, to Anthony Jelonch and Thibaud Flament, including the highly anticipated Emmanuel Meafou, the Blues are orphans of several key players.

“There are quite a few injured, absent managerial players, who had a certain impact on the rugby which was offered by the French XV, very important boys in the rotation and in the offensive animation (…) He must be taken into consideration.”, notes Jérôme Thion, former international second line and consultant for Canal +. Against the Transalpines, the French will also have to do without their new captain, Grégory Alldritt, who was injured in Scotland and has not yet recovered.

Absences that do not erase worries

But not everything can be blamed on the absentees and the evil in the French game seems deeper at the start of the year. “The style of play with these players would have been the same. When you see the Irish, at the end of the match, we forgot that they no longer had [Jonathan] Sexton, while for fifteen years he had the green jersey with number 10says former international scrum half Dimitri Yachvili, consultant for France Télévisions. In Ireland, the system takes over the players. We still have some time to adapt.”

At the start of this new cycle which should lead to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, the French XV must in fact adapt to the absentees and to a staff, partly modified compared to the first mandate of Fabien Galthié, with the arrivals of Laurent Sempéré (conquest and specific tasks) and Patrick Arlettaz (in charge of the attack). “There are new combinations, in touch for example. We could see that it wasn’t working very well yet. There is a time of adaptation for the new staff. Not everything has to be thrown away, of course, but, inevitably, questions arise”explains Dimitri Yachvili.

The touchline, a sector in which the Blues generally failed during the first two matches (six lost shots), is a good image of the difficulties encountered by the French forwards. “I think the Paul Gabrillagues-Paul Willemse combination was poorly chosen when we played against Ireland and we were ultra-dominated in this sectordeciphers Jérôme Thion. Afterwards, the touch is a lot of communication and adaptation. I think we need to give this team time to find the right carburetion and the right settings.” The observation is also valid for the entire tricolor pack, shaken and much less dominant at the start of the Tournament.

“At the moment, we don’t really understand how they approach matches tactically.”

Dimitri Yachvili, former international scrum half

at franceinfo: sport

The XV of France also seems to have lost itself on the tactical level. From an efficient and flamboyant game, at its peak on the evening of a historic victory at Twickenham in March 2023 with seven tries scored and 506 meters covered with ball in hand, he moved to much less confidence and more excitement. “Before, we took things in hand, there were combinations, movements, we kept the ball. Now, we play a game almost exclusively on defense, we try to play recovery balls afterwards. We are not not really into construction”regrets Dimitri Yachvili.

The demonstration suffered against the XV du Trèfle (five tries conceded and only 314 meters covered) particularly highlighted this difference, according to the former international scrum half: “When you see the Irish playing, you tell yourself that we are still quite far away in terms of innovations and game launches. That’s what’s worrying.”

Another psychological blockage?

What if the beginnings of the game were also rooted in the disappointment of the elimination against South Africa? “I definitely think that, right after the World Cup, having to move on was very difficult for a lot of playersexplains Jérôme Thion. This is a team in reconstruction. This World Cup was a real failure (…) Accept it, talk about it, it would do good and it would make everyone move on to something else. But we hid it a little.”