There are certainly no more small teams, as our footballing friends would say, but, by beating New Zealand in the opening match of the World Cup, the French team will have two weeks earlier devoid of pressure. Yes, because by successively facing Uruguay and Namibia (not the thunderbolts of war), before challenging Italy, the XV of France will be able to run and calmly prepare for the second part of the tournament. Even if there are still some small problems.
What to do with Julien Marchand?
Hit in the hamstrings of the left thigh at the very start of the match against the All Blacks, the hooker of the France team will be absent for around a month and will therefore miss, at least, the three remaining matches of the group stage. Julien Marchand must carry out additional examinations at the start of the week and will be determined for the duration of his unavailability. Will the Blues staff keep Marchand for the rest of the competition?
“We are not going to rush,” explained Laurent Labit, attack coach of the XV of France, quoted by The Team. Julien was not scheduled to face Uruguay. We have two hookers who are very fit [Mauvaka et Bourgarit] and we also have frontline players who can occupy the hooker position exceptionally. » Not kept in the initial list of 33, Castres hooker Gaëtan Barlot can hope to find the Blues if the staff preferred to do without the Toulouse player.
Bernard Laporte, absent, but present with the Blues
The former president of the French Rugby Federation was not present on Friday at the Stade de France to attend the inaugural match of this World Cup. According to Le Figaro, Bernard Laporte was not invited by the current management of the FFR. The latter estimates that the former coach of Stade Français and Toulon must, above all, reimburse legal fees for his trial, estimated at €150,000.
But Bernard Laporte was, in a certain way, present in the preparation of the Blues. The coach, Fabien Galthié, in fact broadcast to his players a video (from 5’30) of Laporte’s puppet to the Guignols de l’Info when he was talking about the matches against the All Blacks.
Watch out for spy drones!
We would be members of the Uruguayan or Namibian staff, we would jump at the opportunity. On Sunday, the Paris Police Prefecture announced that it had issued a prefectural decree (n°2023-01044), which authorizes the capture, recording and transmission of images using drones during public training. of the XV of France this Monday in Rueil-Malmaison.
The program of the day
After two rather light sessions on Sunday, the French team will train in front of its supporters this Monday at the Parc stadium in Rueil-Malmaison. Nearly 3,000 people are expected for this meeting which will start at 4:30 p.m. The entire tricolor delegation will take the road to Lille on Tuesday. The team composition will be announced in the afternoon.