XV of France – Reassured about his physical condition, Thibaud Flament announces: “We do not fear the All Blacks”

His exit from the field last weekend shortly before the half-hour mark had cause for concern. Despite the dark sky at the start of the week marked by the packages of Attissogbe, Penaud, Atonio and Crosthe second line of the French XV should hold its place well against the All Blacks. After Tuesday's training, the Toulouse man appeared in front of the media and gave a reassuring speech about his physical condition. “I took a knee to the iliac crest (against Japan, Editor’s note). It hurt a lot. I've done a lot of care on it, I've been training and it's going well.”

Unless there is a turnaround, Flament will be well suited to challenge the men in black at the top of an autumn tour that started perfectly against Japan (52-12). Already present during the two French victories against the New Zealanders during Fabien Galthié's first mandate, the second row looked back on his experience against the Blacks. “They were two different matches: the first was the construction of this group, a stage. The second time, it was a high-stakes match for the World Cup. It's easier to build on victories: it reinforces the game plans we put in place, the choices we make.”

Not satisfied with our scrum performance against Japan

A perfectionist, Flament admitted that the match against Japan was not perfect despite the high score and the eight tries scored. This week's work focused on a specific area in preparation for the clash. “We weren't satisfied with our scrum performance against Japan. So we focused on that this week before the All Blacks. We don't fear them because we have the weapons to compete with them.”

Although Flament is confident about his team's chances of success against the Blacks, winners in England and Ireland, he is no less admiring of Scott Barrett, his counterpart with 78 caps with the fern: “He's one of the best players in the world in his position. He's a very good leader, too. He's often on the verge of making mistakes but he's a strength. It will be up to us to make him doubt.” With a forward pack weakened by the absence of captain Sam Cane, the role of Beauden and Jordie's brother will be all the more crucial for the New Zealanders, who dream of beating the France team for the first time since 2018.