After too many affairs which affected the XV of France and the Federation this summer, the Blues must take care of their image, not only on the field, but also off it. This autumn tour, which begins this Saturday with the reception of Japan, is crucial for French rugby, where exemplarity is the key word for the former glories of French rugby.
Rarely (never?) has a fall tour been this important. Many observers agree on this subject, the XV of France is playing big during this month of November, for the first gathering since the dramatic summer which shook French rugby, with the racist remarks of Melvyn Jaminet, the affair Jegou-Auradou and finally the tragic disappearance of young Medhi Narjissi… The coat of arms of the Blues has been sullied, so the stakes are enormous.
“We have to restore our image, we feel that we have no right to make mistakes. We have to regain our sporting skills, but go beyond,” says Denis Charvet, former player of the French XV, in the RMC show “Les Grandes Gueules du Sport”, before specifying: “It goes through the field, but also through exemplarity outside it.”
A point already mentioned by Maxime Lucu, who will start the first match on the bench (against Japan, this Saturday evening at 9:10 p.m.). “We are in the eye of the storm,” said the UBB scrum half a few days ago. Everyone is aware of the importance of this fall tour and keeps reminding us of it at press conferences. And Philippe Saint-André, former coach of the XV of France (2011-2015), has no doubt about the fact that the 23 selected (+ the 19 made available to their club) will show a completely different face of French rugby for “put the church back in the middle of the village.”
A return of the captains synonymous with maturity
If the gathering in Mendoza (Argentina) included many players with little or no experience, the executives from the Galthié era are back during this fall tour. “We have a team again with the captains, we have experience, maturity and we want to find it safe and off the field,” declares Saint-André, still at the microphone of RMC, then adding: “ But where I have no concerns is that the leaders on the field are also leaders in the locker room. I think that when you have Dupont as captain and Alldritt as vice-captain, the new players will be well supervised. “
A year after the painful slap taken in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against South Africa, French rugby finds its main representative. Having become Olympic champion at 7 in Paris, the Toulouse number 9 represents much more than simple sporting added value. “He’s a serious guy, who takes care of his lifestyle, he’s a real high-level athlete. I’ll take the example of Jonny Wilkinson, thanks to his exemplary nature, he changed the entire locker room. And for Dupont, it's the same, he won't talk a lot, but when he speaks, everyone listens to him,” explains Philippe Saint-André.
But the XV of France is not only counting on Dupont and the other captains to restore this image, a “living framework” has been established. Banning of alcohol without authorization, total freedom ended… The Blues are now more supervised. “The Federation was obliged to take measures to show that rugby has real values, even if at the moment we have deviated. We want to show an example that we have never had,” confides Denis Charvet, before that Philippe Saint-André does not slightly question this new system: “There will always be moments of conviviality, it is the very essence of our sport. The first one to reach this gathering, he will perhaps drink a beer dry ass, but it will be hidden, not in front of the cameras.” Beer or not, the first answer to give is this Saturday evening, at 9:10 p.m., at the Stade de France against Japan.
Nathan Giordana with the Grandes Gueules du Sport
