From our special correspondent in Marseille,
It was enough to see how Fabien Galthié’s face lit up on Tuesday at the mention of the Vélodrome stadium, to understand the happiness of the Blues to find this place. “I love it, I’m a fan,” said the coach. I only have great memories here, no bad ones: the All Blacks, England, Australia, South Africa as a player, a semi-final with Toulon against Racing, against Africa of the South with the current French team…” Don’t worry, the former scrum half would be up all night recounting his exploits on Boulevard Michelet.
No warm-up against the Blacks
“Wait, I have an anecdote, though. Should I make it for you or not? » The followers that we are didn’t expect so much, so go ahead Fabien, balance. “In 2000, we had to play against the All Blacks and we were housed in Aix-en-Provence. We arrive in town, and we get lost. The bus cannot find the stadium. And finally, we only arrive half an hour before kick-off. We go down and find ourselves in a Société Générale convention. They were happy, but there was only half an hour left. We changed on the bus and returned to the locker room only fifteen minutes before kick-off. So we had an idea. As we no longer had time to warm up, we just walked around the pitch, slowly. The crowd was so close, there was such fervor, such heat in the stadium that just by doing that, we were hot. And after a quarter of an hour, we led 17-0. »
Better than that, it was even after twelve minutes. Two entry attempts from Garbajosa and Magne electrified this balmy November evening, one of the most exciting in the history of French rugby, with a breathtaking 42-33 final score. That was the first time for the French XV at the Vélodrome. For the latest, in November 2022 against South Africa, Charles Ollivon takes over: “An incredible atmosphere. We had chills. I remember a penalty from Cheslin Kolbe. We looked at each other on the pitch, and we didn’t understand what was happening because there was so much noise. We couldn’t hear each other speak. These are things that stand out. This atmosphere remains in this cauldron, the noises remain, the emotions, the feelings too. I even have the impression that the ground shakes a little sometimes too. »
The final victory of the Blues against the reigning world champions (30-26) is part of the pantheon of this generation. In the end, there is only Antoine Dupont who does not have extraordinary memories of it. The scene was actually rather funny on Tuesday, between an ecstatic coach and his scowling captain.
– “And you, Antoine, do you like the Vélodrome? »
– “I have very mixed memories about the last match…”
– “Ah but yes it’s true! Well, we won. »
– “Yes yes, that’s why I said mixed. »
Galthié had forgotten that his number 9 had received a red card during this meeting for a dangerous play on Kolbe. But the Blues had won, like almost every time they step on this lawn. In 13 matches, only two hiccups have tarnished the love story, against Argentina in 2004 and New Zealand in 2009. This Thursday, against Namibia, we cannot clearly see how the typical team of the XV of France might not enrich it further.
Players can’t wait to taste this special atmosphere again. “It’s a change from the Stade de France. There, we are really close to the supporters, appreciates full-back Thomas Ramos. The stadium is magnificent and the atmosphere incredible. We want to have a good match. » And to bring the city of Marseille a little breath of fresh air, while OM has just plunged into a crisis of which it has the secret.