As the XV of France prepares to launch its World Cup at home, Friday, at the Stade de France, against the All-Blacks, it is a whole people who lend themselves to dreaming of the supreme title, on October 28 next. If the Blues have never seemed so strong and so ready, despite the last minute hiccups with the injuries of three executives (Ntamack and Willemse forfeited, Yawn on the sidelines), they will also have to not let themselves be eaten by the pressure and expectations of the French public.
For this, they will be able to rely on the experience of the Blues during the World Cup in France 2007, missed out on their opening match against the Argentines because of very poor management of the surrounding context. Despite a historic victory against the Blacks, disputed in Cardiff, Wales, the XV of France will finally fall against a small team from England in the semi-finals. Enough to leave immense regrets to Imanol Harinordoquy, the third line of the Blues that year. For 20 minutesthe former has agreed to return to this sad memory and to distill some advice to the new generation.
What do you remember from this 2007 World Cup at home? How does it feel to approach such a competition at home?
We, paradoxically, did not know how to use the enthusiasm around us, the fervor of the public, to bring us to the opening match, in particular because we completely cut ourselves off from what was passed around us during the preparation. We were entrenched in Marcoussis for a long time and it was only on D-Day, making the bus trip to the Stade de France, that we realized the enormous expectation that the French team was arousing. with the French. It was amazing to see the thousands of people on the side of the road, the motorbikes escorting us with flags, and finally that pressure crushed us. When we look at our heads during the anthems, we are white as aspirin tablets and we were never at our true level during this opening match.
Protecting yourself from this popular fervor was a mistake?
Yes of course. You realize with hindsight that it’s really from the moment you live the thing fully, where you take advantage of it, that you can give the full measure of your means. It is not by cutting ourselves off from everything, by telling ourselves that we are going to put ourselves in a bubble that we are going to be efficient. What is important is to use past experiences and learn from them, this is what the current French team does with the members of the staff who were players at the time (Galthié, Ibañez) . They understood that well, they fully lived their preparation in a campsite in Capbreton, open to the public, they had periods of freedom in order to flourish in the best possible way, with family, with friends or within the group, and that’s a very good thing. A World Cup is a human adventure and you have to live it fully to be successful.
How did you feel on the bus, on the way to the Stade de France?
It really inhibited us, we felt that the pressure was palpable in everyone and we never expected to experience such a thing. We weren’t prepared for that, we honestly didn’t expect so much enthusiasm. It took us by the throat, in the guts, we hadn’t anticipated that at all, we hadn’t talked about it among ourselves or with the staff, and it was something we didn’t know how to assimilate. to something positive. All this put end to end meant that we got tangled up on the ground. And as the game progressed, the pressure crushed us.
Not to mention the reading of Guy Moquet’s letter a few hours before the match. How did you experience that? It was a very emotional moment, perhaps too much?
No, it was not very emotional, that’s the worst! We weren’t aware of anything, we didn’t know where it came from and, above all, we didn’t understand what it was doing there. It only added something extra-sporty in an already heavy sporting context and we clearly didn’t need it. Even today nobody understands what happened at that time, nobody had been kept informed. We were coming back from a walk near our hotel in Charles de Gaulle, the weather was gloomy, there was a very low gray sky, very heavy, which gave a lunar atmosphere…
What should be said to a group a few minutes from arriving at the Stade de France for the opening match of a World Cup, against the All Blacks moreover?
I think everything has been more than planned, whether sportingly, humanly, physically, strategically. The players know that everything has been done to ensure that they are in the best conditions to tackle this first match. The speech is to say guys, you did everything right, now be a little selfish and enjoy it, it’s your time. A World Cup in your country you only see it once in a career. The idea is to only bring out the positive and use what has been done to give the best on D-Day. They also have a collective confidence which should allow them to get through the difficult times too, because there are will have. For the rest, when you arrive at the stadium, there is not much to do, the job has been done. If it’s a speech five minutes before the match that should change everything, there’s something wrong.
What was the mood after the opening game in 2007?
It was catastrophic. Everyone had missed their match and we find ourselves in a very complicated situation where you are fighting to finish second in the group knowing that it is the All-Blacks who are waiting for you in the quarter-finals. From there, we went on a commando mission, there were no more jokers, no more excuses, it was up to us to take ourselves in hand and become actors in our World Cup. That same evening, on returning to Marcoussis, our late Christophe Dominici took the initiative to shake the coconut tree and meet us in a poor bistro in Marcoussis. The goal was to tighten the bonds, to burst the abscess, to evacuate the pressure and to say to oneself ”we start again on something new, we find the joy of living and our true level”. Basically everything we hadn’t done during the preparation.
You were talking about the bunker side of Marcoussis. In this, the departure to Bordeaux, to face Namibia, did you good?
Yes, from the moment we left for the provinces, first to Bordeaux, then to Toulouse and Marseille, it did us a world of good. We were no longer isolated in Marcoussis, we saw a few people, we could go for a walk. It was then that the popular fervor began to carry us. And as luck would have it, we played much better behind.
What do you remember from this Mondial at home? Is it above all regrets or does popular fervor end up, over time, taking over?
It remains an incredible moment. Playing a World Cup at home, in front of your supporters and your family, is unique. But it’s paradoxical because the best memory we have of this World Cup is this quarter-final won against the Blacks when we were sent to Wales, because we thought we were going lose. We were perceived, in my opinion, as the ugly ducklings that must be sent far away, to Cardiff, to face the All-Blacks. I felt like they wanted to send us away so no one would see us lose. Afterwards, we came together around this idea and we still had an exceptional human adventure. But it’s sad to say that the best moment of your World Cup, you lived it far from home and from your public…
A word on the enthusiasm today, we saw the reception of the players in Rueil the other day. Is it tenfold compared to what you experienced in 2007?
Yes, clearly. Already because rugby is more popular and publicized today than at the time, even if it was already not bad. And after a big decline in the 2010s, when the XV of France no longer enjoyed a good image, the arrival of Fabien Galthié has given rise to something new and pleasing. They restored the coat of arms. We found freshness, dynamism, a very good mentality, guys who wet the shirt and who are a pleasure to see. There is also a whole new generation of incredible players, so there is a real enthusiasm around this team, and today is the high point with the World Cup which begins. There is a huge expectation behind the Blues.
This group, this generation, seems impervious to pressure. Do you also share this observation?
Yeah, we feel a real dynamic in this new generation, they are able to live this pressure without it inhibiting them. They manage to switch a few minutes before the match, to put themselves in their bubble and to be pressure-tight. Even during the match, we see them very calm collectively, they don’t panic, it’s the proof that we are facing great players who, despite their youth, show a rather incredible maturity.
What advice would you give them?
To be actors of their World Cup, that they have no regrets. If things are not going well, they should not be afraid to speak up. But I have no doubt about it, this team works very much in a participative mode.
Will Galthié talk to them about 2007 just before entering the pitch?
I think he has already done this beforehand. They used the different experiences of the past to draw the right lessons. It is the first time that a French team has been so highlighted, that it has been the absolute priority and this for four years now, with extraordinary work from the clubs which have made their players available to the XV of France. We have players who have been preserved, with real rest periods, so that the Blues are in the best conditions to be at the top during the competition. We were preparing for a World Cup two months before it started! So I don’t think Fabien is going to bullshit them with what happened in 2007, the most important thing is what’s going to happen and we can’t wait for it to start.