At the Stade de France,
It’s difficult, but you have to push yourself. And then it’s that or crush the first thing that comes to hand, so good. The brutal elimination of the Blues in the quarter-final is still hot and we must already think about what comes next. As cruel and frustrating as this premature exit from the road may be, you should not throw everything out the window. There is nothing shameful about losing such a close match against South Africa, one of the only two nations with Ireland that could claim favorite status alongside the French XV.
“We must not start from scratch,” argues Grégory Alldritt straight away. We still have these four years behind us, they are not for nothing. » It doesn’t cross anyone’s mind, to be honest. We said it before, whatever happens in this quarter-final, we will not forget the progress of this team since Fabien Galthié took office and the advent of this generation which has given us back the desire to sit down in front of the Blues matches. “We have written a few pages of French rugby,” believes the coach. The French team will continue to play, to advance, to develop. »
Let’s talk about men, first of all. For the boss, it’s clear, he’s leaving again. At a press conference, Galthié cut short the question of whether this defeat called his future into question. “No, I have a contract until June 2028,” he simply replied. And as the president of the FFR Florian Grill had not set a minimum objective to achieve in the competition, there is no reason why he should not be there at the start of the next VI Nations Tournament, next February.
A spine in the prime of life
On the other hand, Uini Atonio and Romain Taofifenua will not be there. The hooker and the second row officially played their last match for the France team on Sunday evening. “Two fantastic players, references to their position and on top of that, great guys,” salutes Alldritt. This is the life of a selection, some stop, others will arrive. » The places will be expensive, all the same, because if you look closely, the backbone of this team still has good years ahead of it. A quick overview:
- Front row: Mauvaka (26 years old), Marchand (28 years old)
- Second row: Flament (26 years old), Woki (24 years old)
- Third row: Alldritt (26 years old), Jelonch (27 years old)
- Hinge: Dupont (26 years old), Jalibert (24 years old) + Ntamack (24 years old)
- Three-quarters and full-backs: Penaud (27 years old), Bielle-Biarrey (20 years old), Moefana (23 years old), Ramos (28 years old)
The question will however arise for some executives, notably Ollivon, Baille (30 years old), Danty (31 years old), Fickou and Cros (29 years old). Not that they are old men, but we have to see if we are planning in a few months or already for the next World Cup, in four years in Australia. Jonathan Danty knows this well: “For me, it will be complicated,” admits the center of La Rochelle. This is a discussion that I will have to have with the staff. If the XV of France wants to work over a period of four years, perhaps I will not be part of it. »
This will be all the work of the coming weeks for Galthié, whose arrow of time was released four years ago and stopped on October 28. “It helped us to work and develop the players according to a certain methodology, for this objective,” he recalls. A new vision will certainly replace it, with obligatory changes to breathe new life into it. Within the staff, already, the attack coach Laurent Labit and the sideline coach Karim Ghezal will leave. The latter will be replaced by Laurent Sempéré, the forward coach of Stade français. These won’t be the only adjustments made.
For the rest, we won’t find a rugby enthusiast who won’t want to go back to the fire with this team. She has delivered too many emotions, given rise to too many hopes, for us to abandon her in the open countryside like that. “We have to get up, stand tall and go to the next fight. We have other matches to come, not in this World Cup, but we must continue to believe in the team,” professes the assistant, Raphaël Ibanez.
The players are aware of having a “great generation” (dixit Jalibert), who have built something strong since the start of preparation, three months ago. “I want to keep in mind the state of mind of the group,” insists Alldritt. Once this elimination has been digested, there will certainly be things to keep to feed the next challenges. “It was our first playoff meeting. We didn’t miss out, but we failed, notes Antoine Dupont. In the present moment it’s hard to have this outlook, but it will help us learn and gain experience. » “The French can be proud of their team,” encourages the captain opposite, Siya Kolisi.
See you on February 2, therefore, for the first match of this new era. It will be against Ireland, in Marseille. The two big disappointments of the World Cup face to face, in a crazy atmosphere as the Vélodrome knows how to offer… Hearts up, we have not finished vibrating with this team, but as for a world title, it will be necessary come back in four years. And as Greg Alldritt says, “four years is a long time.”