“How are you feeling physically and mentally?
I’m very good. We were obviously disappointed after the World Cup but in the back of our minds, we wanted to be part of the group for this Tournament to allow us to turn the page on this competition and start with a clean sheet, with lots of good intentions and the desire to do well.
Are you vengeful?
No, because there will not be South Africa (smile). But obviously we want to bounce back, to find victory again with this group. We have from Friday (February 2) this first match against Ireland which was also bruised after the World Cup (loss to New Zealand in quarter-finals, 24-28). Both teams want to bounce back, it will be an important match that everyone is waiting for.
“We are working today to limit dangerous situations where we put ourselves in danger. We are putting in place a little more organization to be able to exploit everyone’s talent in the best way. »
What has changed with the changes in the staff?
There were small changes but we kept everything that worked now. We’re not going to throw everything in the trash, on the contrary. We keep what worked and we try to bring precision to our structures and more details where there was a need to add them. The idea is really to continue with the project and improve the small errors that prevented us from playing our rugby.
Do you know what went wrong against South Africa?
Something in particular, no. But we saw a few situations that failed us in that match and that we could have improved with two or three changes. We would have exposed ourselves less, that’s mainly what it is. We are working today to limit dangerous situations where we put ourselves in danger. We are putting in place a little more organization to be able to exploit everyone’s talent in the best way. During the first days of the gathering, it was important to go back to our structures and discuss the changes made so that everyone spoke the same language.
Grégory Alldritt is now your captain…
He wasn’t captain before but he was already an important leader in the group, with real weight on this team so it’s only natural that he gets this armband. Honestly, I don’t see any difference with the Greg from before, he’s the same person. »