game plan well launched, state of mind praised, last English step too high… The results of the Tournoi des Bleues

The French XV finished in second place after their defeat against England on the last day, but also showed good things during the five weeks of competition.

Five weeks of competition later, it is time to take stock of the 2024 edition of the Six Nations. After four first victories and a rise in power, the Blues closed their Tournament, Saturday April 27, with a defeat against the Red Roses in the match for the title, and a second place in the general ranking, as for three years.

The satisfactions

A validated game project

During this Tournament, the Blues tested and refined a resolutely offensive game plan, based on an almost constant desire to keep the ball alive (embodied by the 72 passes after contact made by the French, more than any other team). “We wanted to free ourselves from the rails that we had put in place, we wanted to be freer”summarized after England the third tricolor line Charlotte Escudero, for whom this progression in the game is the satisfaction to remember from this Tournament.

Because after two first matches to be settled and a few adjustments, the players offered two more complete performances against the Italians and the Welsh. And even against the English, they struggled and played hard, especially at 14 against 15. “We are 200% convinced that we are on the right path. We had intentions, we showed it throughout the Tournament, we showed it again todaysaid David Ortiz after the Crunch on Saturday evening. The project is progressing strongly, and so are the players.”

A positive mindset to maintain

The defeat on the last step did not dampen the good state of mind that was built in the group. Throughout the Tournament, the Blues appeared diligent and united, like the last half hour played in numerical inferiority against the English.

“We were able to show determination, even at 14”underlined Charlotte Escudero at the end of the match. “We were starving, we really wanted to hurt them […] our state of mind was very good in this match”also assured Pauline Bourdon Sansus.

“We are lucky to have resilient players, who always ask for more. We are not going to give up and we are going to come backpromised co-selector Gaëlle Mignot. The first words on the ground [après la défaite]it was to get back to work strong.” “The state of mind is there, we sense hardworking girls who are not going to be discouraged”confirms Marie Sempéré, France Télévisions consultant.

A group that comes together and gains experience

During this Tournament, the Blues also built a collective history and continued to gain bearings on the field. The group confirmed this good mix of generations, between executives who are confirming and young people who are coming into the light. In the first category, the French were able to count on sisters Marine and Romane Ménager, 108 selections between them and each indispensable in their zone, or on a Pauline Bourdon Sansus who was narrowly impressive throughout the Tournament.

“We, the executives and the leaders, we are more and more confident, it must continue like this, we try to bring to the group”she said after the match against England. In the other category, there are these “young players who are getting in tune, who have exploded, like Assia Khalfaoui who had a fabulous tournament, Lina Queyroi who still took the keys to the truck”, Marie Sempéré list. So many promises for the future.

Disappointment

The glass ceiling facing the English

This is obviously the great disappointment of this Tournament, all the more difficult to digest as it came to close the adventure. Dominated by the English Red Roses (42-21), the Blues let their Grand Slam dream slip away. A setback that the main actors and actresses of the Tournament explain by a lack of control and an accumulation of small details which ultimately weighed them down.

A defeat with an air of déjà vu, since it is the third year in a row that the Blues have lost the announced final of the Tournament against their best enemies, and finished in second place. “It’s a bit like history repeating itself: the French are gaining strength from match to match, but the last step against the English is always a little too high”summarizes Marie Sempéré, who explains this defeat by a “lack of control”A “lack of lucidity on the red card”and the fact that the Blues are not “not yet at their level”.

Statistically, in this edition, English and French women do not box in the same category. In five matches, the former have scored twice as many tries (44 against 22) and 118 more points (270 against 152) than the latter, a world of difference. The Red Roses have also multiplied the big scores, from the 48-0 in Italy on the first day to the correction and the 88 points inflicted on Ireland a week before the final.

The Blues, who have not won in the Crunch since 2018 and are therefore on a series of 13 losses in a row, are still waiting to break what has become a solid glass ceiling. “We try in every match, but we see that at the moment, they are better than us”regretted Pauline Bourdon Sansus, who nevertheless believes that “the gap is closing”. See you in a year to see what’s going on, and try to put an end to the bad streak.