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In a rare move, French national team coach Fabien Galthié announced that he would be using the exact same group of players for two consecutive matches. This is the first time this has happened since Galthié’s predecessor, Jacques Brunel, did the same in 2019. Galthié explained that this decision was made due to the tight schedule between the fourth and fifth rounds of the championship. The team had a physically demanding week, traveling from Cardiff to Lyon with only one day off in between, in preparation for their match on Friday.

The decision to trust the team that defeated Wales 45-24 seems to be a sign of confidence, although some may question if their defensive performance justifies it. Nevertheless, it reflects the current situation.

The French have had a difficult championship season, not managing to secure a home victory since last October when they dominated with a 60-point win against Italy in this location. Since then, they suffered a loss against New Zealand in Paris, were heavily defeated by Ireland in Marseille, and barely salvaged a draw against Italy in Lille thanks to a missed conversion by Paolo Garbisi in the last minute.

Galthié’s job isn’t under threat, yet, not least because the French Federation lost so much money on the World Cup that the last thing they want to do now is buy him out of a contract that runs up to the next tournament. But people are beginning to get restless. If they can beat England on Saturday, they will probably end up second in the table despite it all, there’s even a scenario in which they could end up winning the title. But if they lose, they could find themselves down in fifth place.

Although the team’s lineup has remained constant week after week, there have been significant alterations made since their last match against Ireland. Several players who were previously on the field, including Matthieu Jalibert and Jonathan Danty, are either injured or suspended. However, it appears that some of the changes were not intentional. The starting locks, Paul Willemse and Paul Gabrillagues, are no longer on the team, and one of their replacements, Cameron Woki, has also been removed. Furthermore, players who were placed in unfamiliar positions, such as Yoram Moefana on the wing and Maxime Lucu at scrum-half, have been moved back to the bench.

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There have been rumors circulating that Woki left after not being included in the game against Wales, but Galthié denies this. He claims that Woki is simply being given a break due to his heavy workload. Playing in France can be exhausting, as the Top 14 started the day after the World Cup final and Woki and his French teammates were back in full training just a few weeks later for the rounds of matches in mid-November. There is a perception that Galthié may have underestimated the fatigue of some of his players at the beginning of this championship.

Galthié also denies this statement. However, he did mention that the most impactful moment of the tournament was during a pre-game training session where two separate teams competed for starting positions for the upcoming game against Wales. According to him, this session helped to reinvigorate the team as there was intense competition and determination from all players to earn their spot on the team. The resulting team, with three 21-year-old players – Nicolas Depoortère at centre, Nolann Le Garrec at scrum-half, and Léo Barré at full-back – is significantly younger and more energetic compared to the team that started the tournament.

Galthié has faced criticism for being hesitant to make changes to his team, but there has also been significant discussion about the adjustments he made to his coaching staff. Laurent Labit and Karim Ghezal, who were responsible for the attack and lineout strategies, have moved to Stade Français. Their replacements, Patrick Arlettaz and Laurent Semperé, have not been as effective in those areas.

Charles de Gaulle posed the question of how one could effectively govern a country with 246 types of cheese. In the years leading up to Galthié’s leadership, it seemed justifiable to wonder if it was even possible to manage a national team that represented over 2,000 rugby clubs.

In the past five years, Galthié’s achievements have united everyone in a team effort. He was able to select larger teams, had greater access to his players, and had more authority over their responsibilities. However, since the World Cup has ended, he has had to relinquish some of these benefits. It has been two decades since France has defeated England in three consecutive matches.

Galthié’s squad has won the previous two matches. It appears that they will have to repeat their success this weekend in order to regain the support of their followers and move forward in the future.

Source: theguardian.com