After a perfect autumn tour with three victories in three matches, Fabien Galthié appreciated the face of his group, which showed unity and courage to end the year with a bang.
Fabien Galthié can smile. With three successes on this autumn tour, the last of which acquired this Friday at the Stade de France against Argentina (37-23), the Blues are ending 2024 on a good note after numerous twists and turns. Following the successes against Japan, New Zealand and against the Argentinians, Fabien Galthié stressed that there were “only winners” after this autumn tour.
“The team is a group of players. These are the 42 who gathered on Sunday in Marcoussis. We decided to do a rotation because we had three matches. The All Blacks were followed very closely by Argentina , only six days later”, recalled the Blues coach at the microphone of TF1 at the final whistle. “The only match against Japan gave us room to maneuver. They all scored points in their own way. There is competition, that's normal. The more emulation we have, the more competition we will have for the same position and the better the French team will be We had little time to prepare. The Argentines spent six months together. The teams from the southern hemisphere are difficult to play in November, difficult to play l. We must pay tribute to the players. time, they managed to build a framework.”
>> Relive France-Argentina (37-23)
The Australia 2027 project is launched
After the disillusionment of the elimination in the quarter-finals of its World Cup in October 2023 against South Africa, the XV of France was able to bounce back during a year 2024 far from being easy, whether on or outside the green rectangle. “It's been a year since the World Cup was played in France. The post-World Cup year was special. We worked a lot but we never had a full squad for various reasons. The VI Tournament nations was difficult, even if we finished second The Tour in Argentina, we had a young team with developing players who were off to a good start but you all know what happened (the start of the Jegou affair. -Auradou, editor's note). For this tour, we brought together the best team of the moment. There were a few notable absentees (Baille, Ntamack, Penaud)”, continued Fabien Galthié.
2024 now in the rearview mirror, the French coach keeps in mind the World Cup in Australia in 2027. A long road of three years and 30 matches that the Blues will have to take together, regardless of the players lined up on the match sheet. A group “stronger than anything” who wants to reach the stars after having dreamed of paradise for a long time.
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