A clear score (52-12) and a walk at the Stade de France against the overwhelmed Japanese… Fabien Galthié, the coach of the Blues had reason to appear relaxed when he appeared in front of the press this Saturday evening a few minutes after the match. His gaze is now turned towards the big meeting of this autumn tour next Saturday against the All Blacks at the Stade de France.
What do you remember from this victory?
FABIEN GALTHIÉ. It was a leap into the unknown because it was our first official match of the season. We have no time to waste. Victory was needed. We knew that the Japanese were going to impose a lot of speed on us. First it’s a won test match and then a good preparation match. And it was important because this match completed two weeks of preparation. With some players, we hadn’t seen each other for a year.
What did you think of your offensive performance?
I’m not sure we’ll score eight tries every time in the coming weeks but offensively it looks like our track record. There was a bit of waste, we’re not happy with everything but overall it was very positive.
How are you approaching the clash against the All Blacks?
It is the All Blacks who come to France with a series of three victories. There aren’t many comments to make. Will this be a turning point? I would rather say that it is a big meeting that we are all looking forward to.
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The All Blacks are in their sixth month of competition. They seem to be finishing their season very well. They have just beaten England (22-24), Ireland (13-23). They are at the peak of their rugby. They finish very strong.
What can you tell us about Peato Mauvaka who has been impressively active?
He is in good shape, building on the momentum of last season with Toulouse. What he does in training he reproduces on the field. He is a very good performance leader for us. I would like us to follow him. He started as a hooker then moved to third row to help us out.
