lack of accuracy, indiscipline, poor management of highlights… The reasons for the debacle of the XV of France against Italy

The Blues conceded a sad draw against Italy (13-13) on Sunday in Lille.

This time they hit rock bottom. Held in check by Italy (13-13), in a draw that looked like a defeat on Sunday February 25, the Blues are only a shadow of themselves. For the first time in its history, France was unable to beat the Nazionale on home soil in the Six Nations Tournament. The contrast with the demonstration three months earlier during the World Cup against these same Italians (60-7) is striking. A look back at the main faults at the origin of this debacle.

But where did the offensive drive go?

“What we proposed is not normal”, lamented hooker Julien Marchand on France 2. Offensive reluctance is not yet a norm, but is becoming a constant for these Blues. On Sunday, they scored only one try, their worst total against Italy since… 1964. Pointed out before the match, the Maxime Lucu-Matthieu Jalibert hinge was once again neutral. But the two other animations tested in the meeting (Lucu-Ramos then Le Garrec-Ramos, certainly outnumbered) did not do better, a sign that the problem is deeper.

Often perfectly oiled during Fabien Galthié’s first mandate, the three-quarter line was disconnected. So much so that the rare initiatives behind it, by Matthis Lebel or Damian Penaud, did not succeed due to lack of continuity. The last vain counterattack from Yoram Moefana (80th), who preferred to isolate himself on the wing until being pushed into touch rather than wait for support, is a good illustration of this.

Not knowing how to conclude…

Very dominant in the first act, at least territorially (70%) and in terms of possession (58%), the Blues returned to the locker room with a narrow gap (10-3). However, it’s not for lack of trying within the opponent’s 5 meters. “We stay close to their line for almost 10 minutes without scoring”, railed Esteban Abadie in the mixed zone. The Blues, rather dominant up front, cruelly lacked precision in the scoring areas and lost a total of 19 balls.

Despite an overall production to be reviewed, the French had at least been able to materialize their rare highlights in Scotland two weeks earlier. This time they persisted in imposing a physical challenge on Italians who were more robust than expected. On several occasions, the Blues preferred to go into touch on penalties. “We perhaps did not make the right balance between taking the points or insisting”, recognized Charles Ollivon at a press conference. By finishing with 13 small points scored (worst total of the Galthié era equaled), the French will regret this sin of pride for a long time.

A blow to the head like a bullet to the foot

With the red card from Jonathan Danty (40th), the Blues played another half with 14 men. The center was excluded for head-to-head contact, a tackling error similar to that of Paul Willemse against Ireland. In both cases, the French did not make the effort to bend down. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter much, notes Fabien Galthié. That don’t smile at us and it costs us dearly.” Given the two radically different faces, this numerical inferiority was detrimental to the French. Behind this avoidable fault, there is the eternal deficiency of indiscipline. The Blues were penalized 12 times, including two in the final minutes.

The management of the 14 against 15 meeting also raised questions. “The match slipped through our hands”, recognized Gaël Fickou. The French logically ceded the ball to the Italians and contained their offensives rather well. But their ordinary and infrequent kicking game (20 kicks over the entire match) prevented them from confining the Nazionale to their camp. In this game, the early exit of Matthieu Jalibert and the replacement of Matthis Lebel at the back, not a specialist in foot occupation, weighed heavily.

Leaders, which leaders?

Ange Capuozzo’s equalizing try (71st) logically galvanized the Italians. And the French? Hands on their heads, staring into space, on the contrary they seemed stunned. The spirit of revolt to reverse delicate situations, as in Scotland two weeks earlier, was already far away. On the contrary, they plunged and came close to being penalized, the penalty for Paolo Garbisi’s win having hit the post (80th).

Amputated by a host of executives (including Anthony Jelonch, Grégory Alldritt, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack), the XV of France no longer had many people to remobilize the troops. The surge led by Julien Marchand and Romain Taofifenua was extinguished by yet another hand fault. Generally speaking, the bench almost emptied from the 50th minute – only Abadie entered later (66th) – did not have the expected impact over time. Dominant on most impacts and in melee, did the French pack need to be remodeled so early?