The defeat of the Blues in the quarter-finals of the World Cup marks the end of an adventure, but not of a cycle. They have three and a half months to get back into working order before the next Six Nations Tournament.
She may stay for a few days or a few weeks. It can also grate their palates for many months, even remaining there for several years. Some, as former coach Pierre Berbizier confided to the Parisian, even keep it for life. It is this bitter feeling of an early elimination in the World Cup, which remains across the blue throats still marked by the epic fight against the Springboks. The French already saw themselves there, had almost everything to get there, but their defeat by a tiny point (28-29), Sunday October 15, deprived them of almost absolute happiness.
“A World Cup in France, we won’t live through it anymore.” sighed third row François Cros on Sunday evening. “It’s almost like a mourning phase, it will haunt the players for a few weeks”, illustrates Dimitri Yachvili, consultant for France Télévisions and came within a whisker of the title in 2011 (7-8 against New Zealand in the final). Because in life as on a rugby field, it is rather advisable to move forward, we can trust these Blues to go back into battle. “We are lucky to have the Tournament fairly quickly, we will be able to change”agreed Grégory Alldritt.
110 days after the summit against South Africa, the Blues will begin this campaign with a therapy-like duel with the other traumatized quarterfinal, Ireland. They are not yet at the Trèfle stadium, beaten at the gates of the semi-finals for the eighth time in ten attempts, but the French stopped in the quarter-finals for the third time in a row. The parallels with the debacle of 2015 and the promises of 2019 are limited, both in scenario and context, but the purpose remains the same. “We should definitely not throw everything in the trash as we come out of four exceptional years”however, indicates Yachvili.
A new page in the same chapter
“A page turns”, conceded hooker Peato Mauvaka, and we shouldn’t expect the next one to be full of twists and turns. Fabien Galthié remains the chief narrator and is the first coach to “survive” a World Cup since Bernard Laporte in 2003. His staff will, however, undergo adjustments. The departures of coaches Laurent Labit (attack) and Karim Ghezal (touch) from Stade Français and physical trainer Thibault Giroud will be respectively replaced by the arrivals of Patrick Arlettaz (ex-Perpignan), Laurent Sempéré (ex-Stade Français) and Nicolas Jeanjean.
On the field, movements will be more restricted, since only two lieutenants, the right pillar Uini Atonio and the second row Romain Taofifenua, 33 years old on the clock, will stop. But, combined, the two mirror cabinets cost 280 kilos, 3.99 m and 106 selections, and replacing them will not be easy.
“There is perhaps a little less talent in the right pillar, but in the second row, Emmanuel Meafou will be able to play and has a bit of the same profile as Taofifenua”, recalls Yashvili. Aligned in this role of “pusher” to the right of the team, Thibaud Flament did well, while Paul Willemse, long-time holder but injured for the World Cup, is turning 31.
What fate will Fabien Galthié reserve for his handful of thirty-somethings? “For me, the next World Cup will be complicatedJonathan Danty, 31, himself admitted. If the XV of France wants to work over a period of four years, maybe I won’t be part of it.” Its unique perforator center profile could keep it in a group, which we can hardly imagine being completely turned upside down in three months.
“We have to work on our weak points”, Mauvaka said on Sunday. In other words, the flaws in the game will be more questioned than the choice of men. “It’s not a construction site, the foundations are solid but we will have to refine the finishes”, adds Dimitri Yachvili. Receptions of high-footed games, offensive support on rucks or management of emotions at the end of the match.
The arrow of time will welcome new UFOs
“We will try to find the positive by saying that we have a lot of young players, a great generation”, Matthieu Jalibert pretended to console himself in the corridors of the Stade de France on Sunday. Some of the executives, like Grégory Alldritt, Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack or Damian Penaud, will not have reached their thirties in 2027 and will attack the World Cup in Australia in the prime of their lives.
And since Fabien Galthié’s first four-year plan was marked by the emergence “of UFOs” (Thibaud Flament, Melvyn Jaminet, Louis Bielle-Biarrey…), there is no reason why the second should not be marked by other Martians. Five years ago, Cameron Woki, Romain Ntamack and Arthur Vincent were under-20 world champions before quickly returning to Marcoussis with the big boys.
Since then, two other generations have been crowned, the last of which last July (with a large margin over the competition), and we will not be surprised if Posolo Tuilagi, Lenni Nouchi or some of their comrades are capped – And UFOs – in the coming months. Despite its slightly declining slope, the arrow of time, the name so dear to Fabien Galthié on his roadmap, has more than ever a bright future ahead of it.