Defeated after some lackluster performances, the three-quarter center raised his level of play throughout the Tournament, notably scoring a try against England on Saturday.
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To see him exulting in the goal in the middle of stunned Englishmen, we would have thought we were back in February 2014. When, in the middle of the leaden years of French rugby, the young Gaël Fickou offered a little comfort to the Blues by scoring his first international try to defeat England (26-24). A decade later, on the evening of his 90th cap, the three-quarter center regained the carefreeness of his 20 years to gallop into the in-goal and put the French back in front, in an indecisive and won Crunch (33-31 ) by the French, Saturday March 16 in Lyon.
France-England “Crunch”: Fickou allows the Blues to snatch victory (FRANCE 2)
The happy epilogue, for the center of Racing 92, of a Tournament that resembles a roller coaster. If we were to caricature, we would almost say that the Blues were, this winter, a mirror of their “captain of defense”: first without ideas when he was extinguished, then reinvigorated when he found pep, like in Cardiff (45-24) or against England. Does this mean that when Fickou goes, everything goes? Criticized, questioned, he has in any case shown that he can still provide proud service.
In a match that was difficult to read overall for his team, everything was not perfect. “I miss a tackle, I take it for myself”, he admitted on France 2 about the first English try, following a breakthrough from Ollie Lawrence in his area. But offensively, he continued to offer himself and finished with nine carries with the ball in hand for 62 meters covered. His best total for three years with the French team, while his standards fluctuated around thirty meters in this Tournament.
Day 5: Gaël Fickou gives the advantage back to the XV of France
This time France took advantage of an English error, on a throw-in. However, this is a sector of the game where until now, the XV de la Rose was intractable. Gaël Fickou was responsive and lively. It thus made it possible to restore the advantage in the score to the French. A lead which became more considerable a few moments later with the inevitable Thomas Ramos, perfect this evening with his transformations.
Obviously inflated by his solitary ride on his try (60th), the statistics testify to Fickou’s availability. Like, for example, on this winning interval shot at the origin of Nolann Le Garrec’s first try (20th). It also illustrates the power of Fickou, often dominant in his frontal duels to fix several defenders.
Preserved despite Gailleton and Barassi
Already the author of two tries in Scotland and then in Wales, he ended the Tournament with three passes into the opposing goal, his personal best in 11 appearances. After concluding a collective effort at the end of the line in Edinburgh then Cardiff, the Racingman this time presented himself in support of Damian Penaud. Each time in a register more like a finisher than a puncher, as if we had found the twirling Fickou of his young years in Toulouse. In this sense, it was favored by the evolution of the offensive plan over the course of the Tournament, moving from a game of excessive dispossession to a balance between foot and hand which highlights it more.
Day 5 – Gaël Fickou: “it was an alternating current match”
Author of an essay in the second half, Gaël Fickou gave his analysis of the very close match. He remembers the “state of mind” and the victory. He also looks to the future and spoke about the promising new generation.
While it was tempting to condemn the entire center pair after the suspension of his friend Jonathan Danty against Italy, the staff maintained their confidence in him. As since the start of the Galthié era, despite Emilien Gailleton (20 years old) and Pierre-Louis Barassi (25 years old) and despite an unequal World Cup pointed out by Fabien Galthié. “He clearly told me that he found me less transcendent, I missed that little something extra”admitted Fickou to The Team mid-January.
And the latter to warn: “But be careful, I haven’t become bad! It’s up to me to find my gas again.” Two months later, he showed he was not yet finished for the highest international level. The fact is that, since this famous test against England in 2014, Fickou has become so much a part of the furniture that we forget that he will only be 30 years old on March 26.