“He is perhaps fed up with Matthieu Jalibert”, the Bordeaux player defended in his choices by a former international

It's now official: Matthieu Jalibert is finished with the November tour. The opening half of Union Bordeaux-Bègles is not in the extended group of 42 players to prepare for Argentina. According to the latest rumors, Fabien Galthié also informed the player of his decision on Sunday morning.

On Eurosport, Jean-Baptiste Lafond spoke about the case of Bordeaux. For him no, Matthieu Jalibert has not given up by withdrawing from the France group. But the former player of Racing and the French team still supports the UBB player or, at least, puts himself in his place and completely understands a certain disappointment, frustration or weariness of always seeing himself relayed behind one or more other players while many agree that he is excellent in his position.

We have to put ourselves in the place of little Jalibert who is having a huge season. UBB will surely be champion of France in the coming years (…) We must respect the character of the players. I like that everything is not smooth and I liked his frankness. Afterwards we know very well that Jalibert is not the first choice. And I put myself in his place, perhaps he is fed up with Jalibert (…) Every weekend, he plays good matches. So when he returns to Bordeaux what do we say to him: “Aren't you tired of not playing while Ntamack is pissed? Aren't you tired of it?” You came back, you believe it…So I put myself in his place, he has a feeling of injustice.

A paradoxical communication from Galthié?

Jean-Baptiste Lafond also admits to having a little difficulty understanding Galthié's communication: “It's the first time I've heard a coach say, about a player who isn't a starter, 'He will come back to the France team if he wants.' There is a paradoxical and not logical side. Usually you say that about a starter.” It is true that his words can ring a little false, especially when we see that Matthieu Jalibert was not taken back for the last week.