« I'm not interested in looking at who is in good shape or who is not because in all cases, that's not always what takes precedence for selection. » What Matthieu Jalibert said last week at a press conference could just as easily have come out of the mouth of Baptiste Serin (30 years old, 46 caps).
The Toulon scrum half demonstrated it again this weekend during his team's victory against Harlequins, he is currently in resplendent form. The fake pass he made to try is only the epiphenomenon of this state of affairs. And yet, barring any surprises, his name should not appear in the list of 42 which will be communicated by Fabien Galthié, this Wednesday afternoon, with a view to the Six Nations. Or if he appears, it will only be destined for him to play useful.
The three folding seats are promised to the inevitable Antoine Dupont (28 years old, 55 selections), indestructible captain of the Blues, to the young Nolann Le Garrec (22 years old, 4 selections), the incarnation of the future at the position in the perspective of the 2027 World Cup in Australia, and to Maxime Lucu (32 years old, 24 selections), player with regularity and state of stainless spirit.
No surprise
The absence of Baptiste Serin will not make the headlines. As incongruous as it may seem when reading sporting performances, it is now accepted. Anticipated. If he played in the 2020 and 2021 Tournaments as Antoine Dupont's understudy, the Landes number 9 has only honored seven selections since the 2021 fall tour. Despite the affirmation of Maxime Lucu in the jerseys of the UBB and the XV of France during this period, despite the injuries which sometimes kept him away from the field, this reflects neither his talent nor his influence. Two qualities that have continued to assert themselves.
“He is one of the best French scrum halves” Dimitri Yachvili
“He is a player who has reached maturity as a scrum half,” observes Dimitri Yachvili, the former international number 9, now a consultant for France Télévisions: “He shows a lot of vice, experience. In fact, he seems psychologically liberated. The question we can ask ourselves is: is it the fact of no longer being in the papers (Editor's note, of the XV of France)? But I also think that age plays a role. In this position, at a given moment, you no longer have any complexes: you play freely. His leadership has increased too. With and without a ball. It is painful, it annoys the opponent. He has real weight: he dominates, he controls. »
And yet, that's not enough. Not in the eyes of Fabien Galthié in any case. Baptiste Serin was named captain during the sad July tour of Argentina, as he had already been against Italy in November 2021, but the relationship between the two men does not seem fluid. As if the coach suspected the Toulonnais, locker room leader and character player, of not being able to cope with the role of Antoine Dupont's understudy.
Doubt
“I have the impression that people consider that either they have to make me a starter, or I'm going to be ugly,” defended the former UBB player during preparation for the 2023 World Cup. “And yet, I did two Tournaments as a replacement for “Toto” (Editor’s note, in 2020 and 2021), and it went well! »
Fabien Galthié has obviously never advanced on such terrain. Its justifications have always been technical, linked to the playing system of the XV of France, or sporting.
The Landais has long harbored frustration with this situation. He now approaches the situation with more perspective, assures those around him in Toulon. “You know him well in Bordeaux, where you knew him with all his talent,” observed his manager Pierre Mignoni in December. “But I find him much more regular in his matches, in the way he trains. » The result is there, observes Dimitri Yachvili: “He is one of the best French scrum halves. »And this even if he will not accompany them.
