This is the ideal scenario, the one that any rugby follower and even the players, as Romain Ntamack explained in the mixed zone, hoped for. Winners of Wales (13-9) in Cardiff, Friday March 11, the Blues remain unbeaten before their last match, to the tune of the final of the Six Nations Tournament, against England on March 19. The coach of the Blues, Fabien Galthié, and the tricolor captain, Antoine Dupont, analyzed this victory before projecting themselves on this match where a success would rhyme with Grand Slam.
Franceinfo: sport: It’s a victory very different from the first outings at the end of a stifling match where the defense was particularly important. Is the satisfaction also great?
Fabien Galthié: Yes. It was different, we agree. The fourth match of the Tournament, when you arrive with a winning streak, is the hardest. Especially here, against a very tactical team. The important thing was to win this game, and that’s what was done.
We felt a lot of tension on the side of the supporters, or even in the press stands. How did you experience this end of the match on the staff side?
Fabien Galthié: Like you, probably like the players, even if you have to ask them because the feeling on the pitch is sometimes different. It’s a match that we expected, against a team that has great tactical know-how, it’s not for nothing that they were champions last year. The Welsh kicked 36 times, we 28, that’s huge. They played very high, with a lot of pressure foot play. It was very hard, but we managed to answer it.
After tonight’s victory, talking about Grand Slam is no longer taboo?
Anthony Dupont: From now on, we can afford to talk about the Grand Slam. We know it will be on everyone’s lips, supporters that it will be everywhere in the media this week. Tonight, we will enjoy, then we will switch to do everything to win this match.
You are going to play a final to get this Grand Slam at the Stade de France, at home, against England. This is the dream scenario, isn’t it?
Fabien Galthié: The dream scenario is to win the matches that follow. Four wins in four games, that’s the dream scenario. With an average age of 25, twenty caps, we are a team that is still progressing and so is the staff. We will turn to this last match of the competition against England from Monday. It is the finalist of the World Cup, it is often ranked in the top three of the world teams. We must not choose the wrong opponent and concentrate on England, prepare with our method, our ambition, our conviction. We must not deviate from our path, to continue to grow.