Barely recovered from the opening match when the French XV plunged into the second meeting of this World Cup at home. The blue delegation embarks this Tuesday for Lille, where it will face Uruguay on Thursday.
Before that, she enjoyed one last crowd at her base camp at Rueil-Malmaison, which she will only return to after the last group match against Italy in a little less than a month.
Julien Marchand remains in the group
Bruno Boussagol, head of the health center of the XV of France, came to a press conference on Monday to take stock of the state of the troops. Concerning Julien Marchand, leader of the French front line and injured at the start of the match against the Blacks, examinations taken on Sunday confirmed a muscle injury in the left hamstring. The staff decided to keep him in the group and do everything possible to treat him as quickly as possible.
“We have three weeks ahead of us to get him to be competitive,” said Boussagol, quite confident that the hooker could be available for a (very) probable quarter-final, without however being able to be certain. “He has already made small progress since Friday, and mentally he is in good shape, he is hanging in there,” said one of the team’s three physiotherapists.
And the other seriously injured?
Don’t worry, there’s been news from everyone. And they’re pretty good. Jonathan Danty, injured during the last preparation match against Australia, is fully recovered and available to coaches for the next match. Anthony Jelonch too, and it’s a small event for the man we thought was out of the World Cup when he suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the end of February.
Bruno Boussagol returned in detail to his accelerated rehabilitation, revealing in particular that the player and the staff responsible for monitoring him had gone to other sports, for example skiing, to enrich the exercises and recover more quickly. “Today, all the lights are green,” assures the health manager. But he will still be closely monitored. Zero risk [de rechute] does not exist. In any case we felt, by mutual agreement between the staff, the surgeon and the player, that he was ready. »
Cyril Baille, who suffered a calf injury in mid-August, has resumed high-intensity racing and should return to the training grounds next week. The realistic objective is for it to be competitive against Italy (October 6). “He also has good morale,” insisted Boussagol.
The line-up for Uruguay almost known
Jelonch will not only be available to the coaches on Thursday, but will also be on the pitch at kick-off. If we refer to the team lined up in blue bibs in training this Monday, the Toulouse player will be there, surrounded by Sekou and Paul Boudehent in a completely overhauled third line. Jelonch will even be captain in place of Antoine Dupont, according to The Team and the Midol.
More generally, almost the entire XV will change compared to New Zealand, including a front line made up of Jean-Baptiste Gros, Pierre Bourgarit and Dorian Aldegheri. Maxime Lucu and Antoine Hastoy should be associated as hinges. Arthur Vincent in the center, Louis Bielle-Biarrey on the wing and Melvyn Jaminet at the back are also announced in the game. In the end, only Cameron Woki, Yoram Moeafana and Gabin Villière left to be renewed. Not the most convincing on Friday, and this is surely no coincidence.
A big crowd to say goodbye to Rueil
Three days after their perfect start against the All Blacks, the French players could see that they had made their supporters happy. Despite the dodge, nearly 3,000 gathered Monday afternoon at the edge of the Bernard Marie field of honor to observe the high-intensity session concocted by the staff. After two hours of effort, the Blues took the time to go around the field to sign autographs and respond to the (very) numerous requests for photos. Good guys, we tell you.
And hello Lille!
The Blues leave in the morning for Hauts-de-France. The press conference to announce the starting team is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium.