erasing South Africa’s disappointment, ending the worst run of the Galthié era… France’s XV roars back against Fiji

A week after their heavy defeat against South Africa, the Blues face Fiji on Saturday night in Bordeaux.

Digest disappointment to move forward. A week after its defeat against South Africa in the autumn tour opener (32-17), the French After dominating and being knocked out of the match against the Springboks, the Blues were looking, against a more affordable opponent on paper (9th country in the world), to get a win in order to bounce back. And halted an unprecedented run of four straight defeats, following three in a row this summer in New Zealand.

“This was a disappointing match, we always wanted to win when we were France’s 15th man, we always wanted to achieve achievements, now there is a certain logic in this defeat if you look at the current performance. But there is also no trauma in losing this match”estimates Vincent Clerc, former international consultant and France Télévisions, who now needs it “gain back confidence by beating Fiji”. Fabien Galthié also spoke to the media this week about his tricky night against the Boks: “This is a difficult moment. But today, it is very clear that we must be able to overcome difficult times.”

From post-match, captain Gaël Fickou confirmed this “out of the question” from “to say that we will bow our heads” : “On the contrary, we still have two major challenges to overcome,” referring to this match against Fiji and next week against Australia. A speech delivered at the same time by his teammates in the Stade de France tunnel, who had identified part of the solution: “Back to work”. “We will work hard, we will be back at it on Monday”thus confirming second-row Thibaud Flament, who was withdrawn against Fiji. The credo marked Marcoussis’ entire week of training and his efforts greeted by Fabien Galthié, in the introduction to the press conference announcing his composition, Thursday: “They really worked hard and I want to congratulate them”.

“You have to be aware of the level of your opponents, then play and have fun.”

Fabien Galthié, French XV coach

at a press conference

In this search for starters, the French XV will also be able to count on a significant advantage, to compensate for a series of withdrawals, with seven changes to the starting XV. Grégory Alldritt, reserve and in the stands against the Springboks, returns to his position as third-row center and captain’s armband, while Charles Ollivon, the first captain of the Galthié era, will return to the blue jersey after a long absence due to injury.

Ahead of the match against the Springboks, Maxime Lucu will start the match alongside Romain Ntamack in the middle. “They are players who have a lot of experience, and the desire to show that they are efficient, because young players are coming in, because the World Cup is still two years away, so they have a lot to prove, which is interesting.explained Vincent Clerc. And it provides security in benchmarks with players who are used to playing in the French XV.”

In their path now stands Fiji, the 9th country in the world, in an hour-long match against England (38-18), and carried by several players who play in France, such as Lyonnais Jiuta Wainiqolo, Bordelo-Béglais Salesi Rayasi and Racingman Josua Tuisova, “strong player” Who “causing chaos”in the words of Nicolas Depoortere in Team. “We have to be wary of them because when things are going well for them, with the talent they have, they can make teams doubt and make things difficult for them. We must not take them lightly, but we know that collectively, they are not strong enough.‘, analyzes Vincent Clerc.

Success on the Stade Atlantique pitch would spark a new dynamic and end a run of four consecutive defeats, a first under the Galthié era. OWNbefore returning to Australia on November 22, a selection with a slightly brighter pedigree, but one that has struggled of late. To end the autumn tour well and secure a place in the top 6 in the world, before the group draw for the next World Cup, on December 3, the final highlight of the international year.