While the Blues will try to conquer a first Grand Slam since 2018, Saturday, at Twickenham against the English, the staff has chosen to rely on a mixture of youth and experience.
Place in the field. Before facing England, Saturday April 29 at 2 p.m. at Twickenham (live on France 2 and on france.tv), the management of the XV of France revealed the composition of its team, Thursday April 27, for the match most important in the competition. In search of a title in the Tournament since 2018, the Blue will line up a team similar to that victorious from Wales (39-14) last week.
For this “final” of the Tournament, in a Twickenham which will be full enough to set a new record for spectators in a match in this competition, Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz have chosen… not to change their habits: “We prepared this match like an ordinary weeksays the coach. The important thing was to recover well, as we are playing a third game in a row, so we bet on the regeneration of our players. We prepared the opponent as we would have prepared another team. Of course we talked about the event to the girls. It’s something that is going to be fabulous but that no one has yet experienced.“
A renewed three-quarter line
After having tested a good part of their workforce in the first four games, the staff has decided. The entire three-quarter line is renewed against the XV de la Rose. Pauline Bourdon resumes her place as holder in the scrum after being preserved through injury (crutch). In great shape in the last two games (three tries), Mélissande Llorens keeps the confidence of her coaches on the wing, at the expense of Caroline Boujard, who is not in the group. Holder at the start of the tournament, the opener Carla Arbez takes place on the bench, accompanied by Maëlle Filopon.
To meet the English physical challenge, the management of the France team decided to change one girl per line in the pack. Rose Bernadou takes the place, on the front line, of Assia Khalfaoui. In the second line, Manae Feleu, impressive since the start of the Tournament and injured against Scotland, finds a starting place alongside captain Audrey Forlani. Consequently, the neophyte Maëlle Picut leaves the group. Former captain, Gaëlle Hermet, who has regained a starting position over the matches, will be aligned alongside Axelle Berthoumieu, absent against the Welsh, and Charlotte Escudero.
Coming off the bench, Romane Ménager and Emeline Gros will bring all their experience, within a bench imagined with the idea of offering a second XV of the level of the one who will start, as David Ortiz explains. “Since the start of this tournament, we have been trying to implement this strategy with a starting XV and an ending XV. The objective is to have an end XV as strong as the starting one. It is a global vision of the match that we must have. All the reflection that we carry is linked to this strategic dimension according to our opponents, our adversaries. Today we put together this team to have maximum balance on all the lines and to be able to be competitive over the whole 80 minutes.“The French have not beaten the English in this competition since the success (18-17), in Grenoble, on March 10, 2018.