A plan has been put together for the right-handed position, where Uini Atonio, barring a physical problem, will start before being replaced by Georges-Henri Colombe.
With which pillars will the French XV start the 6 Nations Tournament against Wales? The question torments Fabien Galthié. During the interview he gave us last Friday, the coach appeared upset, not to say very worried, at the mention of the subject. “Due to the uncertainties we have about the state of Uini Atonio, Cyril Baille or Jean-Baptiste Gros for various reasons but also in connection with the injuries noted (Wardi, Tatafu, Falatea), we decided to call more pillars than expected.” Never before had the Blues staff, under the Galthié era, called eight players to this position in a list of 42 players.
Usually, there are six, sometimes seven. However, the current medical situation requires increased vigilance. On the left, Toulouse Cyril Baille and Toulon Jean-Baptiste Gros, the captains, return, each to varying degrees, just in the competition, when Reda Wardi had to withdraw. The Catalan Giorgi Béria and the Toulonnais Dany Priso were therefore summoned just in case… However, in the minds of the staff, the first two, in the name of the duty of memory, hold the rope.
Dove as an impact player regardless of the holder
On the right, the boss is Uini Atonio. After an alert due to a knee problem against Leinster during the 3rd day of Top 14, his name was still placed on the list of 42. With some fears. Last Friday, Fabien Galthié made no secret of it. Perhaps he was reassured to see his colossus leave the pitch in Treviso last Saturday without any apparent injury? However, he took the precaution of recalling, in addition to Georges-Henri Colombe, Dorian Aldegheri and Rabah Slimani, the latter living a second youth since last summer in the province of Leinster. With what objective?
-According to our information, if Uini Atonio is fit, he will start the first match against Wales. Otherwise, Rabah Slimani, even if he returns to Dublin on Wednesday evening due to lack of agreement between the FFR and the IRFU, will make his comeback in blue in the starting XV. The reason? In both cases, Georges-Henri Colombe will be a replacement in an impact player role, like the status held by Sipili Falatea in the not-so-distant past. This is how the staff constructed their scenario to attack the competition.
A scrum that worries its coach
Obviously, the Blues coach would have preferred to launch the competition in other conditions. Above all, he is openly worried about the level displayed by his scrum since the end of the 2023 World Cup. In great difficulty during the quarter-final against the Springboks, then not very sovereign until being frankly put in difficulty by England at the end of the 2024 Tournament, the French scrum went through a checkered 2024, like during this tour in Argentina where they ridiculed their Pumas counterpart in Mendoza, a week before to be overthrown in Buenos Aires.
“Today we are not strong enough in this sector of the game,” says Galthié without flinching or pretending (read pages 2-3). The observation is as bitter as it is lucid. And refers to the problem currently experienced forcing the technical staff of the Blues to juggle between the physical problems of some and the serious injuries of others. “We have a stable environment in the French team, said the boss of the XV of France. However, our best pillars are regularly injured. They are on very sinusoidal cycles: game, injury, rehabilitation, recovery… There is no consistency. Our pillars are not less or stronger than elsewhere, but they have a recovery, preparation and playing time which is different than in other selections. With the inherent consequences…
