While the Blues will play the last match of their autumn tour, the two star fly-halfs of French rugby will play in the Top 14 this weekend. For very different reasons…
No need to search the archives for too long, the situation on Saturday will simply be unprecedented since Fabien Galthié took the reins of the XV of France at the start of 2020. Namely that Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert will both found on a Top 14 pitch during a doubles weekend. Seeing one of the two play a championship match, in this configuration, was already an extreme rarity. in this respect, and to justify the point, we can cite the tenure of Romain Ntamack on Saturday December 5, 2020 during a Bayonne-Toulouse while the Blues played the next day in the final of the Autumn Nations Cup against the England, at Twickenham. In the suburbs of London, it was Matthieu Jalibert who wore number 10 with the Tricolores. But if the Toulouse player was not there, the explanation was precise: with the reorganization of the international calendars precipitated by the Covid epidemic, the FFR and the LNR had agreed on a limitation of three matches in the autumn window for French players. Which had already been achieved for Ntamack.
This shows how inconceivable it was to do without one or the other, even more so both, as they were the privileged openers of the Galthié era. This Saturday, the day after the third international meeting of this month of November against Argentina at the Stade de France, Romain Ntamack will be on the Ernest-Wallon pitch to face Perpignan (4:30 p.m.), a few hours before the kick-off kickoff for the duel between Vannes and Union Bordeaux-Bègles (9 p.m.) in which Matthieu Jalibert will participate. But the two cases are obviously very different.
Ntamack, in agreement with the blue staff
In an ideal world for him, Ntamack should have made his comeback to Marcoussis to prepare for the current tour of the XV of France, and wear the blue jersey again against Japan. But fate decided otherwise. After missing the World Cup and then the 2024 6 Nations Tournament due to a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the Toulouse opener suffered a tear in his right calf during the reception against Clermont on October 12, for the 6th day of Top 14. If his unavailability was quickly estimated at a minimum of three to four weeks, his presence against the All Blacks was initially hoped. It must be said that in the eyes of the French staff, Ntamack is considered the titular and indisputable number 10 of the national team. A justified status for the boy's confidence, particularly on the fundamentals of the position, and his influence on the collective.
But, in agreement with Fabien Galthié and his deputies, the player gave up this international autumn so as not to rush his return to competition. He will return for the 2025 Tournament. In the meantime, he took advantage of the last two weeks of vacation granted to the Stadistes to refine his recovery. On Monday, Romain Ntamack therefore resumed collective training in a completely normal way and he applied against Usap. Everything suggests that he will form the hinge of the Rouge et Noir with Paul Graou.
For Jalibert, the reality is more complex. Holder during the World Cup and at the start of the last Tournament, in the absence of his main competitor, the Bordeaux number 10 – despite a good start to the season on a personal level – was downgraded in recent weeks, Galthié preferring Thomas Ramos to opening. The person concerned was thus a substitute against Japan. Lacking confidence, he was even intercepted on an opposing try after his entry. And, since then, events have taken the turn that everyone knows… Warned by the coach that he would not be on the match sheet against New Zealand, faced with the decision to opt for a bench in 6-2 ( six forwards and two three-quarters), Jalibert expressed his desire not to be a reserve (which was planned) and asked to return to Bordeaux. Claim accepted by Galthié… But a gap has opened up between the two men, many of whom wonder how it could be bridged in the future. Sunday evening, Jalibert was not recalled to the group of 42 players. Aware that he may have been weakened by this episode, Yannick Bru will not deprive himself of aligning his playing master, who will be the starter.
