between France and England, the “crunch” promises to be crunchy – Libération

Reassured by its victory in Wales, a rejuvenated French XV hopes to stay the course, Saturday March 16 in Décines, against England in order to conclude the Six Nations Tournament on a positive note.

After it has been scratched – with the perfidy of disappointed lovers? – perhaps more severely than it deserved, did the XV of France, in return, not see itself, on the contrary, more beautiful than it really is? This is the question we asked ourselves, Sunday March 10, at the final whistle of Wales-France. Big winners at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, 45-24, we forgot for a moment, observing these radiant Blues as if they had just defeated Ireland or the Blacks, that they had to wait until the last quarter of an hour to overtake the Welsh. A nation which has won only two matches in the last three Tournaments and, after a spurious World Cup (an aberrant draw allowing it to reach the quarter-finals), is testing young people with a view to a hypothetical clearing.

But, the French group didn’t care about all this. Executives, such as Gaël Fickou or Charles Ollivon, whose performance was still being questioned the day before, scrapped like in the good old days. And some recruits took their chance. From the liveliness of Ile-de-France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec, to the premium granted to oversized formats Emmanuel Meafou or Georges-Henri Colombe (the Blues, with Uini Atonio and Posolo Tuilagi, can today rely on four “big” players at above 140 kilos – a rather frightening affirmation of the hypertrophy of modern rugby, in fact). Thus, the mood had become light again on the evening of the fourth day of the Six Nations Tournament.

Implicit airs of “small finale”

Because, after three crappy matches and one, let’s say, encouraging victory, France finds itself able to get on the podium. From a theoretical point of view, as the perspective is based on fanciful arithmetic, it could even still win the test. But, more pragmatically, we will admit that, given the course of the 2024 edition, a second place would already constitute a generous runner-up. However, this position is currently occupied by the evening visitor, who will be keen not to be outplayed.

So, with its implicit air of a “small final”, we are preparing to experience France-England on Saturday evening (France 2, 9 p.m.), scheduled at the Groupama Stadium in Décines, in the distant suburbs of Lyon. When the two teams sing the anthems, they will know if, as seems more than likely, Ireland won the event, a draw, at home against Scotland, enough to lift the trophy. Nevertheless, the “crunch”, fratricidal opposition on the ground (and folklore around) between the two best enemies of the European continent, promises to be crisp. Because England is gaining strength again: buoyed by a lucky third place in the World Cup, the team has clearly regained confidence around executives who we imagined would rather head towards the team, like the hooker Jamie George , promoted to captain at age 33. Appointed coach following Eddie Jones, sacked due to poor performances, the former second row Steve Borthwick therefore had a chance to, ultimately, manage to place the XV de la Rose at the center of the continental chessboard .

The physiognomy of the group does not change

France, for its part, will logically rely on the same squadron as that which shelled Cardiff six days previously. Having for once no injuries or suspensions to deplore and finally being able to capitalize on a positive result, the physiognomy of the group therefore does not change. It’s too bad for Posolo Tuilagi, one of the rare players to have struggled in the Lille doldrums, against Italy (13-13), and who, not even a substitute, was parachuted into the Bleuets, who are playing England in Pau this Friday March 15. And so much the better for Parisian fullback Léo Barré or Bordeaux center Nicolas Depoortère, who left us a little unsatisfied for their first selection; while scrum half Nolann Le Garrec, buried all week in superlatives following his flashy performance against Wales, will endeavor to confirm that a tricolor symphony remains possible without Antoine Dupont at the helm.

“To win this match, we will have to be better than in Cardiff, respond, move forward: in the scrum, with the kicking game, on collisions. We will have to reverse the pressure and, for that, what counts is energy. The fighting intensity proposed by the English will be enormous.” Thus put together by the coach, Fabien Galthié, after the announcement of the composition of the XV of France, Thursday noon, the trailer is enticing. May the spectacle be up to par, in order to curb doubt, while waiting for the next international events which will not occur until the beginning of July, in Argentina.