This Tuesday in Buenos Aires, the Blues returned to the field during a training session that confirmed the trends around the team composition. With overflowing energy, but also some logical losses for such an inexperienced team.
As they have become accustomed to since the beginning of their stay, the Blues trained with 42 men on the magnificent SIC facilities, without the slightest injury to report. It was barely noted that Giorgi Beria had his ankle strapped during the session, without consequences… On the other hand, it was clear that as the match approached, an excess of tension was palpable, as well as a certain waste.
“When you start preparing for a test match, you feel a little more nervous, that’s normal, smiled attack coach Patrick Arlettaz. We will represent France against the Pumas, who were semi-finalists in the last World Cup. We have seen the statistics: in Argentina, the French XV has only won two matches in eight attempts in the last twenty years. This is enough to show how difficult it will be to impose ourselves. We expect a very tough match, but we have a duty to exist, and inevitably the atmosphere becomes more electric. We are trying to refine our project, but we will have to put it on the table in front of fierce opposition.”
Arlettaz: “To get the jersey, any opportunity is good”
In this respect, the structure of the team should be the one announced for many days (see below), even though the staff tries as best it can to maintain emulation. “Until the team is announced, it is not set in stone, assumed Arlettaz. You’ve seen a big trend, we’re not going to lie, but the team remains open until it’s announced. Of course, we’re playing a game of bibs that’s not very subtle… But if there’s only an announcement on Thursday, there’s a reason. It’s the game that the players are aware of. To go and “get the jersey” as Fabien Galthié said 2500 times, any opportunity is good. Inevitably, the first test will provide lessons, and the match against Uruguay will provide others.”
In the meantime, beyond the very particular context of this tour (which sees the France group preparing for two separate matches at the same time), it is a happy and smiling group that continues to train, generating positive vibes on which the Blues naturally intend to surf. “In rugby, there is the whole technical aspect, but there is what makes it magical, imagined Arlettaz. We are the only continuous contact sport, where there are no stops, where a game sequence can last three or four minutes. There, there are notions that come into play like mutual aid, sacrifice… All of that is not natural, obviously. You only go to sacrifice all the more because you love each other. The notion of group, at that moment, is fundamental in the transcendental side of the story. The real bond, the real magic, the real success, it comes through there because it sublimates everything. ” It’s now up to the Blues to achieve this on the pitch…
The probable starting XV of the Blues: 15. Crossed out; 14. Attissogbe, 13. Gailleton, 12. Frisch, 11. Etien; 10. Hastoy, 9. Serin; 7. Jégou, 8. Joseph, 6. Cancoriet; 5. Pesenti, 4. Auradou; . 3. Dove, 2. Barlot, 1. Gros.
