In Rueil-Malmaison,
The root problem. Epicenter of a controversy born during the weekend, after a tweet from Boucherie Ovalie recalling a conviction dating from 2020 for violence tinged with racist remarks, Bastien Chalureau appeared before the press on Monday evening. A speech that was decided during the day, fanned without wanting it by Fabien Galthié in a not so private discussion with Emmanuel Macron.
While the President of the Republic had come to pay a short visit to the Blues five days before their long-awaited entry into the World Cup against New Zealand, the coach slipped to him during an aside picked up by the microphones present around the field that his second line should speak at the end of the day. “Let him be himself, invoked Galthié. If he has to cry, he has to cry. He has to say things. »
Bastien Chalureau cried. Without there being anything premeditated, of course. Tears came to him when he spoke of his loved ones. It was for them that he himself asked to speak. “It doesn’t just affect me, it affects my family”, he regretted, very moved. But for long minutes before that, he answered questions with a closed face, straight in his boots. “I am not racist”, he thus repeated several times.
“We support our players”
“Since day one, I have confessed my mistakes with violence and I have denied any racist remarks. I am not, I do not share these values, ”he said again. At the heart of this storm, Chalureau can count on the support of his teammates, who showed their confidence in him on Sunday through captain Antoine Dupont. “We’ve all known each other for a very long time. It is not one more fire that will separate us, ”he assured. One of the reasons why the Montpellier player did not think for a second of leaving the group.
While the case has been commented on until the presidency of World Rugby, in the morning, it does not seem to have to waver the France group. Internally, the staff wanted to clear up the situation. “We’ve been anticipating anything that can interfere with our work for four years,” said Laurent Labit, the attacking coach of the XV of France, who also spoke to the press. We had a few episodes, which we managed quite well I think. We accompany our players, we discuss with them, it is the great strength of our method. And when we have dealt with all that, we can concentrate on rugby. The Blues hope that after this streak, the only topic of discussion will be the All Blacks.