The victory against Argentina this Friday at the Stade de France (37-23) completes a founding autumn tour for the XV of France. In terms of playing identity and character, but also in terms of the new faces. The courses towards the Tournament and the World Cup are set.
Let's be honest, the purpose of this November tour was difficult to imagine. A painful elimination in the quarter-finals of its World Cup, a half-baked 6 Nations Tournament, with the advent of youth without the foundation of the game being solid, and a summer tour in Argentina to forget, that, roughly speaking, is the context which surrounded the Blues before this fall. Nothing very reassuring sportingly. And yet…
Fabien Galthié and his staff have set the new course with his little fifty players called up in three weeks. A much clearer course than that of “healing” at the start of 2024. From now on, the arrow of time is aimed at Australia in 2027. The 2025 6 Nations Tournament must be the first step of this arrow. And this month of November 2024, concludes with a rather quiet victory against Argentina, this Friday at the Stade de France (37-23), after that against the Blacks (30-29) and Japan (52-12), looks like at its creation.
I think we can have more consistency in our offensive game.
Because it still gives rise to an idea for a game, which also resembles that before the World Cup. A strong defense. Terrific efficiency. And the feeling that these Blues never break. Against Argentina, this Friday, Fabien Galthié's XV spent 33% of its time with ball in hand in the Pumas' 22m. All with only 44% ball possession. When the Argentinians spent more than two thirds of their time between their 22 and those of the French. They clearly hit a wall. Against Black players, last week, France suffered more, but in the figures the observation is the same: New Zealand spent almost half of its time with ball in hand between the median and the 22 French, when the Blues, with only 39% possession of the ball, spent almost a third of their time in the New Zealand 22 meters. A constant search for efficiency.
“We can do better because we have highlights that we cannot conclude, analyzed Fabien Galthié globally, almost an hour after celebrating the victory against Argentina. But, when we were in line with our roadmap, we realized that we were very dangerous, very effective.” An efficiency ultimately resulting in a 30-point success against the Blacks and a whopping 37 points for Argentina, after a walk against Japan. It's not nothing.
Successes marked by youth and revelations
Furthermore, there is obviously room for improvement. The French captain, Antoine Dupont, recognized this: “I think we can have more consistency in our offensive game. We were able to be pragmatic, score with very little playing time. But everything we work on during the week, we have difficulty finding it during the weekend -end. Which is a bit of a shame when we see the offensive weapons we have. We defended a lot in the three matches. We need to be able to have more attacking balls. Because it is true that France essentially built its victories on turnovers and one-pass play. Strong animation around Antoine Dupont to make the big jets shine. This is how Emmanuel Meafou emerges strengthened from this tour. Just like Paul Boudehent, overpowering throughout the three matches, who symbolizes French defensive strength and who earned his stripes in the third row, taking advantage of the famous emulation. Jean-Baptiste Gros could also be cited.
The settings aren't finished, that's for sure. In a month of preparation, the Blues had to respond to teams who had been living together for six months. They did it. “We can savor and appreciate all three results”concluded Antoine Dupont. And these victories are crowned with a little youth, with the confirmation of Louis Bielle-Biarrey in 11, the firsts of Tevita Tatafu and Marko Gazzotti, the strength of Emilien Gailleton. The little controversy surrounding Matthieu Jalibert is even forgotten. Thomas Ramos may not have had anything to do with it.
The fact remains that, in the construction of a group, this month of November will count. It must serve as a basis, particularly for the 2025 6 Nations Tournament which is coming up quickly (starting January 31 against Wales at the Stade de France). And foundation of Act II by Fabien Galthié. He talks about continuity and a story that has continued since 2019. But, in fact, we feel that something new has been created. See you in two months…
