for the XV of France, a simple slump or a real crisis of confidence?

Against Italy, the XV of France signed a very disappointing draw (13-13) and remains immersed in the doubts which accompany its start to the Tournament.

“It’s a tough tournament, it’s a tough competition.” It was with these direct words that Fabien Galthié opened his post-match press conference in the bowels of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, where his French XV had just suffered a major blow against the transalpine neighbor on Sunday February 25, before finally settling for, for lack of anything better, a draw (13-13).

Held at home by Italy, considered the weakest team in the Six Nations, the Blues posted one of their worst results of the Fabien Galthié era. A performance in line with a disappointing start to the year on the European scene, after the heavy inaugural defeat against Ireland, and the victory in extremis in Scotland. The question inevitably arises of the extent of the damage in the French group, from a simple short period to a possible deeper crisis.

“It’s not normal to suggest this”

One thing is certain, the Blues know that they missed their meeting against the Squadra Azzurra. “We are all aware that the performance is not at the level we would have liked to return, we are aware that there is still work to be done. It’s obviously a big disappointment.”explained last minute holder Matthis Lebel in the mixed zone. Their historic performance, in the bad sense of the word, against Italy is a glaring symbol of the delicate period in which they seem entangled.

We had to go back to 1964 to find so few points and tries scored by the XV of France against the Squadra Azzurra (12-3). “It’s not normal to offer this today”, recognized Julien Marchand at the microphone of France 2 after the final whistle. The bad outing of the day is all the more complicated to understand since not even five months ago, for its last group match of the World Cup, the French collective crushed these same Italians without asking any questions in a victory record (60-7). “It’s a difficult, painful time to live through, because the result is not what was expected, there are emotions felt, shared”explained Fabien Galthié in particular, with a closed face.

Nothing “broken” after the World Cup

But it seems that the crisis is a little deeper, and goes beyond the simple slump of this draw against the Italians. Mired in fourth place more than halfway through, at the mercy of Wales and even Italy, the French XV has not yet impressed, or even reassured, since the start of the Tournament. “We end up with a home defeat against Ireland, a victory in Scotland and a draw at home against this Italian teamlisted the coach to journalists. At the international level, when the French team doesn’t win… The mission is to win, when we don’t win, it’s not positive. Experiencing a defeat is a crisis in itself, when you talk to the players.”

During this period, the specter of the crisis of confidence after the elimination against South Africa is present in everyone’s minds, and largely animated the questions after the meeting, even for Matthis Lebel and Esteban Abadie, however not of the adventure of the World Cup. The captain of the evening, Charles Ollivon, however refutes the hypothesis that something happened “broken” from the heartbreak of elimination. “Honestly, we don’t have the impression that there is anything broken, but we are aware that we must go further and do better”he repeated to the press. “Between us, players, and with Fabien Galthié, there is no problem, we just have to manage to find the little thing that makes us get there before”insisted Matthis Lebel.

The Blues do not want to be alarmist either. “It’s not a drowning either, I think you have to weigh your words”thus released the Stade Toulouse winger in front of the cameras in the mixed zone. “He … not It doesn’t take much for the painful, difficult, unsatisfactory result to move towards a more joyful, pleasant, harmonious result., his coach had assured a few minutes earlier. He and his players will be expected at the turning point in two weeks in Wales, to prove that the downturn is only temporary.