XV of France – Technical. Towards a more offensive game?

The profile of the players who make up a team sometimes says a lot about the game desired by a coach. The XV of France is no exception to the rule. If during his first years in office, coach Fabien Galthié often densified his starting XV with the desire to first win the physical challenge in his strategy of “dispossession”, the coming season, driven by developments in rules and refereeing instructions clearly favoring the attack, could well mark an important turning point. Not exactly a standout, but still…

Or how else can we explain the choices made for this first test match against Japan? Alexandre Roumat rather than Charles Ollivon in the third row, Emilien Gailleton rather than Jonathan Dantythese are two symbols of a new, less compact, more airy orientation. On this subject, discussions within the staff were lively, with not all members necessarily adhering to this new guideline.

Modern Rugby is made up of possessions as well as dispossession

You understand, we don't play the same rugby with Roumat as with Ollivon in the third row. Same with the center position, with the Palois rather than the Rochelais. “Rugby is a game where we look for spaces, said attack coach Patrick Arlettaz last June. It's ridiculous to deprive yourself of that if they're on the front line, and it's just as ridiculous to hit the defense if those same spaces are deep.” And to add: “Where the debate begins, in reality, is when these spaces are neither clearly on the front line, nor on the depth: are we trying to hold the ball even more to create them in the field deep, or do we quickly exploit this deep field to strip the front line? A balance is needed, modern rugby is made up of possessions as well as dispossession, to which we must add the issues of energy and power? preparation time. The conclusion is that nowadays we can be a little more stubborn than before on the front line, but not too much either…”

New profiles at the center

The former Usap manager had placed some banners ahead of the tour in Argentina. And the two test matches against the Pumas probably served as a sketch for a game plan in the making. The victory during the first test in Mendoza was a particular reminder, by hitting the corridors more often and more quickly, that outdoor spaces could also become priority play areas.

Obviously, the “Premium” were not present and an element of adaptation cannot be denied. “Antoine (Frisch) does not have the same profile as Jonathan (Danty) or Yoram (Moefana), but we can very well use him as an anchor, argued Arlettaz before the first meeting. He has everything we need physically to get us into our system. With Émilien (Gailleton), who is a very intelligent player with a fabulous punch, I think we can find a good balance.” Especially if he is associated with Yoram Moefana rather than Gaël Fickou… That's good, at the dawn of this new era, that's what the Blues staff are looking for, looking forward to 2027.