XV of France – In the game, nothing new under the sun

We had been lulled, between the memory of a more lively end to the 2024 Tournament and the expected influence of new rules supposed to favor the team in possession of the ball, by an illusion: that of seeing the XV of France continue to emboldened with regard to his playing intentions. But it is clear that with the return of their captain and spiritual guide Antoine Dupont, the Blues have above all returned to the “game of dispossession” on which they had established their certainties during the first four seasons of the Galthié era. Right? The three victories obtained this fall, including a prestigious one against New Zealand, attest to this, as does the unfailing domination of South Africa at world level.

This is why, during these three weeks of November, we will not have ultimately discovered much new about this has the secret. With, as a lethal weapon, the canes of a supersonic winger (Bielle-Biarrey, who masterfully took over from Penaud) serving a diabolical Dupont-Ramos hinge with narrow accuracy in the use of transition balls.

Always the same areas of progress

Nothing new under the sun, then? Precisely. Especially since regarding its direct conquest (and its direct corollary of game launches) the XV of France has not finished with a certain inconsistency. Question marks among which we cannot hide this chronic weakness in aerial duels and which ultimately raise as many hopes as questions with a view to the next Tournament. “We can have more consistency, pointed out Captain Antoine Dupont. We sometimes have trouble finding our cells. It's a shame because we have some great talents and great individuals.” “We cannot isolate offensive play from the rest: it depends on our ability to conquer the balls, in conquest and in the air, on our ability to defend well, on our kicking game, extended coach Fabien Galthié. We have the feeling that we can do better but we have ticked enough boxes each time to win. We still have room for improvement but the most important thing is that the players manage to apply what we want to do.”

More Dupont-dependent than ever?

The best example here lies, obviously, in the incredible efficiency of the Blues in scoring areas on both sides of the pitch, whether defending their line or crossing that of the opponent. A final aspect which owes a lot to the now famous “black game” but above all to Antoine Dupont, around whom the game of the XV of France revolves more than ever. Logical, if we consider that Galthié and his staff chose to give the keys to the truck to the probably best player in the world? No doubt. There remains a question that arises, implicitly: that of dependence on said player… Indeed, during the last World Cup and even more during the last Tournament, the XV of France felt that it was no longer the same, henceforth deprived of his talisman.

However, it is clear that if the touchline, the scrum or the launches still have time to be reconstructed collectively, we cannot at the same time envisage the cloning of Antoine Dupont, to whom the staff has also asked to duplicate himself as an opener to finish matches, while awaiting the return of Romain Ntamack. Accentuating, in fact, this diffuse feeling of hyper dependence…