Mathieu Warnier, Media365: published on Saturday February 24, 2024 at 10:10 p.m.
Ahead of the match against Italy, for which he regains the captain’s stripes, Charles Ollivon spoke about his relationship with Fabien Galthié, with whom trust is mutual both personally and collectively.
Charles Ollivon will return to the role of captain. While Antoine Dupont has joined the French rugby sevens team and in the absence due to injury of Grégory Alldritt, the third row of Toulon takes over the role which was his at the start of Fabien Galthié’s first mandate for the match against Italy this Sunday in Lille. It is in this capacity that the native of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle presented himself this Saturday to the press. On this occasion, Charles Ollivon was able to speak at length about his relationship with the coach of the Blues, which he presents as being something “a little bit special” before returning to an anecdote dating back to 2019, the cement of this link between the two men. “He called me after my injuries to summon me to the World Cup in Japan as a reserve,” confided the player with 39 caps with the French XV. The mark of trust, I will remember it all my life. For giving me the opportunity to be part of the reserves and potentially go to the World Cup. » This episode makes Charles Ollivon say that there is “a trust that is reciprocal” with Fabien Galthié. But the captain of the day adds that he thinks that “it’s the same for the other players”, who “all have a special relationship with him.
Ollivon: “We will get to the end together”
“It’s a relationship of trust. We know that the French team is ephemeral, adds the Toulonnais. Everything can go very quickly in either direction. We have to give everything for this jersey, for this group and for this staff too, of which Fabien is obviously a part. » This tight link between all the components of the XV of France is seen by Charles Ollivon as the key to the recovery of the French selection during the first mandate of Fabien Galthié. “We are all moving forward together, we have been together from the start,” says the 30-year-old third row. We will all get to the end together. This is one of the strong things for which we have gained a lot in recent years. »And, while the Blues are struggling at the start of the 6 Nations Tournament, Charles Ollivon assures that it is not necessary to revolutionize everything, that the achievements of the last four years will make it possible to straighten out the trajectory, being on the same length wave than his teammate François Cros. “We will have to continue to rely on it for the future,” he concluded. There is a fairly strong link which is rather complicated to describe. We always refocus on performance. We are demanding of each other to pull ourselves up. » A requirement which will result in a convincing result this Sunday against Italy.