physical limitations, indiscipline, difficulties in the game… How the Blues sank against Ireland

The Blues were largely beaten by the XV du Trèfle (17-38) for their entry into the Six Nations Tournament, Friday evening in Marseille.

“Now that’s a bit of a headache, to be honest.” For his first post-match press conference as French captain, Grégory Alldritt tried to put words to a situation that the Blues had not experienced for a long time, that of a crushing defeat. Largely beaten by Ireland (17-38) for its first match of the 2024 Six Nations Tournament, the XV of France had a very difficult evening. From the physical factor to the difficulties in the game, franceinfo: sport explains how the French lost their footing.

Boxes with serious consequences

This is the factor that conditioned a large part of the match. Guilty of two bad tackles by touching the head of his opposite number, Paul Willemse was first sanctioned with a yellow card, then was permanently excluded. An indiscipline all the more regrettable since the French were not penalized much over the entirety of the match (eight penalties conceded, far from the 28 of Italy-France on the first day in 2023, for example, and four fewer than their opponents).

Forced to play 14 against 15 for a total of an hour, the French were unable to carry out the plan they had prepared and were unable to withstand the shock. “O“I quickly understood that the match would be played at 14. This got us into the tough stuff very quickly.”recognized coach Fabien Galthié after the meeting, before specifying: “The scenario of the match did not allow us to go where we wanted, partly because of the red card, but also because we found ourselves chasing the score. We had no margin of manœwork.”

A lack of intensity in physical combat

Against Ireland, the Blues above all sinned physically. Yet identified as one of the keys to the match by Fabien Galthié and his staff, who had chosen a composition serving a “fighting intensity” to face a powerful and well-established team, the physical factor was not at all controlled by the Blues.

Taken by the throat by the much better physically Irish, the French seemed to lack energy on the pitch. “They gave us 40 points, certainly they were more dominant than uswhispered François Cros in the mixed zone. It’s a team that runs a lot, a team that moves around a lot. We weren’t as dominant as we would have hoped.” “We played under pressure almost the entire match […] Is it a lack of energy? We will think, try to understand from Monday”explained Fabien Galthié.

Errors in a game plan still in progress

In the game, the Blues showed too much waste. They have multiplied the errors (14 hand faults) and approximations, such as this poor ball grip on a high ball from Damian Penaud (13th), this misunderstanding on a defensive withdrawal between Ramos and Moefana (10th), or this hole left in the back of Jonathan Danty on the second Irish try (30th). “LThe offensive performance was not there, there was waste, turnovers, dropped balls, less speed.analyzed Fabien Galthié. “We have to raise the bar, whether offensively or defensively, we agree on that”assured the coach.

“We were under pressure, we cowered, and we failed to gain confidence in this system. It’s a failure for tonight.”commented soberly to the media François Cros, who also mentioned the new organization of the staff, “a little change in touch, modifications to the plan and the offensive system”. Adjustments that the Blues still visibly have to get used to.

A state of mind far from the standards that this group imposes on itself

In difficulty on the field for 80 minutes, the XV of France showed no reaction or spirit of revolt, to the great regret of its captain. “As I said in the locker room, in terms of the state of mind, it’s a shame, that’s not what the French XV is. It’s not the face we would have liked to showlamented Grégory Alldritt, with a closed face, after the meeting. We would have liked to offer Posolo [Tuilagi] and Nolann [Le Garrec] a first selection that is a little more festive, as has been the case in the past”also regretted the French captain, who assured that the group would “do everything so that there is a revolt next week”. In Scotland (Saturday February 10 at 3:15 p.m.), on all fronts, these Blues will be expected around the corner.