The Blues have rediscovered the pleasure of playing against the Welsh in Cardiff and intend to capitalize on this good dynamic to finish in style against England next Saturday in Lyon.
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It’s been some time since we’ve seen so many smiles and joy on the faces of the Blues. After a delicate start to the Six Nations Tournament, the XV of France raised its head by securing a well-constructed victory (45-24) on the lawn of Wales, Sunday March 10. A hoped-for success, broad, to start the last part of the competition well and approach the last match against England (Saturday March 16 at 9 p.m., live on France 2 and france.tv) with a little more confidence and of certainties.
At the forefront of satisfactions, a central element addressed by all the players: the fact of having rediscovered the pleasure on the field. “This victory does a lot of good. We played great rugby, with a lot of rhythm, in one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world”appreciated the captain, Grégory Alldritt, in a post-match press conference. “We managed to find some energy and freshness”added the coach, Fabien Galthié.
A “complete match”
“Beyond the score, it is above all the content and the complete match that we achieve (…) I believe that we constructed our match as needed and that we showed another side”, deciphered Thomas Ramos, verbose in front of the media to analyze in depth the blue copy. The Toulouse man also praised all the work done in training during the week. The Blues also benefited from very good entries from the finishers, authors of three of the five French tries, which had not happened so blatantly for a while. “In the second period, with our pack, our 6-2 [six avants et deux trois-quarts sur le banc]we were able to take the lead compared to their bench”, assured the opener of the day. For Romain Taofifenua, “It was important to make a good start. We saw against Italy that we hadn’t managed to impact the match. It was important to do it there.”
Day 4: the XV of France reacts immediately thanks to a try from Gaël Fickou
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Another reason for satisfaction, the strict discipline of Fabien Galthié’s men on the pitch. For the first time in this Tournament, after a shower of cards during their last outings (a yellow and a red against Ireland, a yellow against Scotland, a red against Italy), they played the entire of the meeting at fifteen. They conceded just three penalties, the lowest total in the competition this year. So many good points for creating a positive dynamic.
But the Blues are also aware that they will have to work. Particularly on defense, the big black spot of this Welsh trip. As Julien Marchand warned, “we must remain measured in this victory, not get too carried away.” On the field, the Blues conceded a try during three of the four opposing entries into their 22 meters. “These are things that we have been repeating for several weeks, that inside we have to go up, close, that is our fault in the matchrecognized Thomas Ramos. We take tests at the start of a meeting a little too easily. We will have to increase the defensive slider for the last match, because the English play good rugby.”
Still work on defense
Their future opponents have even made defense a specialty. “It’s going to be a big fight, the English have improved enormously defensively. They have a defense that attacks the opponent and tries to suffocate themanalyzed Grégory Alldritt. That’s going to be the challenge at the start of the week, knowing how to do it.”
Exhilarated by their victory, the French approach this last match in a positive state of mind. Because it’s already a classic of European rugby. “Suffice it to say: France-England, Tournament, last match, that sets the stakes for us”summarized Fabien Galthié. But also because their victory on Sunday, combined with the results of a crazy Saturday (last-second defeat of Ireland in England, victory of Italy over Scotland) can reshuffle the cards in the final ranking.
In front of the press, Thomas Ramos even questioned the scenarios allowing a possible final victory, before ensuring that the group had “this goal of being able to finish second” and went “play this match to the fullest”. All in front of their home crowd, in Lyon, where the French team won for the last time on home soil. It was October 6, 2023, at the conclusion of the group stage of the World Cup against Italy (60-7).