Obviously, Charles Ollivon's 1m99 height has always made a good impression when starting a match in the 3rd line of the Blues. The Basque brings both his size and his knowledge of alignment into touch, but also his immense compasses to wander through the defenses, in good forward/three-quarter relay that he still is, despite his 31 years. This is evidenced by his 15 selection attempts, a record for a French forward.
The biggest flanker on the international scene so far, the captain of the RCT was nevertheless overtaken by Alexandre Roumat on all points, at the dawn of this autumn tour and to everyone's surprise. Because the Landais, whose talent has been fully exploited since his arrival in Toulouse, has taken over from Grand Charles. Both in size (2m02) and in profile.
XV of France. Ollivon released, Roumat protected, ''it's good to question things'', according to Magne
Because Roumat, although less of a runner than Ollivon, has no equals in his register. Namely that of cell head, with exceptional individual technique for the position, but also of an exceptional jumper. Because the touch is clearly the superpower of Olivier's son.
Galthié sure of his choice
Don't throw any more away, beyond his current form and the desire for rejuvenation of the French XV on the part of the staff in certain positions, this is probably what makes the native of Landes number 7 of the Blues this fall. Even if Fabien Galthié naturally pointed out more things at a press conference:
XV OF FRANCE. 5 things to know about Alexandre Roumat, Anthony Jelonch's replacement
“Since he has been in Toulouse, Alexandre has had a string of starts and great performances. He can play in eight, seven or four. He is a player who has great qualities in the winning phases, but not only in the aerial conquest. He also works in the ground game. He is a player who can hold the ball, who knows how to play, who defends well on man. For all these reasons, he deserves to start against Japan.
Probably the said Roumat, thanks to his golden hands, also sticks more with the idea of a possession game that the Blues want to integrate as quickly as possible to keep up with the evolution of the rules, even if they had not only 44% of the ball against Japan. He also showed it against the Japanese, by displaying his technical skill, his mastery of the air and his accuracy in the game, even if he was sanctioned three times.
So many arguments to evoke this not so unjustified conquest of number 7, which could nevertheless be quickly evaded in the event of Thibaut Flament's withdrawal against the All Blacks. Which would then certainly move Roumat up a notch, and bring Charles Ollivon into the starting XV, big side. The opportunity for him to reset the counters?
