This hard fought success (30-29) this Saturday evening at the Stade de France against the All Blacks who had dominated the first period, delighted the Blues coach, delighted with the reaction of his players. Before the last match against Argentina next Friday in Saint-Denis, his team is full of confidence.
Is this victory against the All Blacks a foundation?
Fabien Galthié. This victory does us a lot of good especially as the scenario was not favorable to us at the start of the match with the injury to our right pillar Tevita Tatafu, lost balls, a try conceded on the counter. We were very strong in weak times. At half-time we were able to rectify the situation, improve the conquest which was suffering. I’m not even talking about the shared joy we experienced.
The French team recorded less than a hundred passes, half as many as the All Blacks, is it opportunistic?
It doesn’t mean anything. What matters is the result and efficiency. We played a team that has been together for six months. We have been together for three weeks and we had a match against Japan (52-12 victory). Despite the difficult first half, the players did not give up. It’s very positive.
We are the best European nation in 2024
We saw you moved with your deputies Laurent Sempéré and Patrick Arlettaz…
We worked a lot to get here. We haven’t always been rewarded, but that means we made the right decisions. We can also let go of our emotions. They were very strong and pleasant. There was a need to let go. These players are special guys.
You won three matches in a row against the All Blacks, a performance achieved only once before between 1994 and 1995…
It’s written, it’s done. Then we say what we want. The All Blacks came three times to face this team of Antoine (Dupont) and three times they were beaten (40-25, November 20, 2021, 27-13 September 8, 2023 at the opening of the World Cup). It’s good to take these victories.
Did New Zealand’s strategy, which played less on the foot than expected, surprise you?
The All Blacks didn’t do what they usually do. They surprised us a little, they found spaces. They used the pressure game a little, but less than we thought.
The year 2024 has not been easy, does this victory validate your choices?
I find you harsh compared to our results in 2024. We are the best European nation that year (the French XV finished 2nd in the Six Nations tournament behind Ireland). We still have a match to win against Argentina. We only lost one match against Ireland and another in Argentina in the conditions that we know (Jaminet and Auradou-Jegou cases). We had a lot of staffing problems, it’s a very rich and difficult year of transition to get through but we’re getting through it.
