The captain of the XV of France spoke, the day before his return to the blue jersey. He discusses various subjects, including the new FFR charter and the World Cup objective.
You will face Japan on your return with the XV of France. How do you approach it?
Of course, it was a long period without me playing with the XV so I was very impatient at the idea of reuniting with the team, and especially the guys who make it up. Obviously the Stade de France, with the deadlines arriving this Saturday. I'm very happy and I wasn't lost, I quickly found myself.
This is your first match with the French XV since the World Cup…
We are in a completely different context. A lot has happened since the World Cup for me and for the team. We are in a new cycle, with a new projection and new objectives. First of all, we have the motivation to win the matches that come our way, but also to have fun and put in some game content. I think everyone was a little frustrated with the last Tournament, where despite the second instead, I suspect that they didn't have the most fun on the pitch.
The new cycle you are talking about must lead to the 2027 World Cup. Are you thinking about it?
Every time we calculate the deadlines, the ultimate goal remains the World Cup. The next one is in 2027 and even if it seems far away, I think that we now have the maturity and the experience to say that everything we work on today is with the aim of being the most efficient. possible in three years. We have enough to keep busy with the matches coming up but we feel a new energy, with a new staff and quite a few new players who are almost starting to make us feel old! But so much the better, it shows that the French breeding ground is there, that young people are efficient and deserve their place.
Among the new features, there is this famous FFR charter, which is supposed to control excesses. What do you think?
This was already the case before. When you represent the French team, you have a public image to maintain and responsibilities whether on or off the field. There won't really be any changes, there is simply more clarity on what we have the right to do or not. There will be selected moments which will be convivial or not. As long as it is shared between the staff and the players, we know that the common objective is to be the best possible on the pitch. It's something we didn't even have to discuss, it happened naturally.
Despite your year of absence, you regained the captaincy. Was it natural for you?
I spoke with Fabien about the captaincy. My point of view was clear: I was coming back to this team, I was available to the team. So if the staff thought it was the best solution to give me the captaincy, I obviously accepted it. If their solution had been different, I would have accepted it too. In this team there are different leaders and I don't think we have an ego problem on the captaincy. In any case, we will give the best of ourselves. I feel well supported in this role.
Against Japan, it is the first time that you are associated with Thomas Ramos at the hinge in the France team. What difference does this make to you?
Even if I didn't do it with the French team, we have already played together at the hinge with Toulouse, especially important matches. The benchmarks are there, there are no worries. He is a player who is different from Romain but in the playing identity that we advocate at Stade Toulouse and that we try to convey here, there are a lot of similarities. So it doesn't change much. The two weeks of training went very well and I hope it will go well tomorrow.
The ex-international with 54 caps evokes one of Fabien Galthié's strong choices: the tenure of Ramos as fly-half to the detriment of Jalibert who, according to him, has all the qualities to wear number 10…
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— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) https://twitter.com/RugbyramaFR/status/1854920551334076618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
What do you think of this Japanese team?
We know this team well now. She created surprises a few years ago but now they are no longer surprises. We know what they are capable of with a very fast game, they move around a lot and set a lot of pace. In the middle of this collective, they have very physical individuals capable of performing feats on their own. At international level, you have to be at 200% all the time anyway.
What did you learn technically with the French team at 7 that you will be able to use at XV?
There are quite a few similarities, even though it's a different discipline. There are areas of play that I didn't necessarily work on before where they helped me progress. The duel game, the game in spaces… I wasn't very comfortable at first and I was quickly able to get my bearings and find pleasure. There are also obviously the rucks. At XV, the scrum half participates very little and at 7, we must perform well in all sectors of the game, including this one. I had to put my mind to it and it helped me for my return to XV.
After your Olympic coronation this summer, which followed a new Top 14 – Champions Cup double, how do you find the motivation to go back into battle?
It's something instinctive, that I have in me. Every time I'm on the field, I want to be the best I can be and win everything that comes my way. Even if these are competitions that I have already won, there are always goals to achieve. Whether in training or in matches, I find it hard to comprehend the fact that I am not very good or average. I also have the chance to play in very successful and ambitious teams.
