The Toulonnais returned to number 8, his youth position, even though he had never started an international match in this position. He delivered an intense and constant game even if he didn't make any huge splashes. But some statistics speak for themselves.
At 31, ten years after his debut with the French team, Charles Ollivon played big against the Pumas. He was able to take up the challenge launched by his coach during a France-Argentina match which he played in its entirety. A breach had opened for him with the non-summoning of Gregory Alldritt. Former captain Charles Ollivon took advantage of the Rochelais' poor form to return to his training position, third center line. Fabien Galthié announced the project to him on Tuesday morning. But as surprising as it may seem, he had never played for the Blues with the number 8 on his back. « It's true…. Icame into play in this position in 2014. But it was the pfirst time at the start of a match. I got myself delighted, That m’a rappele when Iandshut up in Bayonne. In Toulon I played a petit little in this position at the end of last season. That said, there wasn't a huge difference from what I usually do. I didn't do the covers too much, because that's not our system And then, I was on the sidelines, so I didn't have to stay fifteen meters for defense or to participate in the game throws.”
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Charles Ollivon was not on the scoresheet against Japan, he was only a substitute against New Zealand. But against Argentina, Fabien Galthié preferred him to rising star Alexandre Roumat (only substitute), in the name of extra power and undoubtedly due to the indiscipline of his younger brother in the first two matches. Supervised by François Cros and Paul Boudehent, he has not enriched his collection of essays, but he remains the most prolific forward in the history of the XV of France (sixteen).
19 tackles
But he finished the game as the best tackler (19 for just one miss), we saw him steal a ball into touch from the Pumas (45e) a few meters from the French line, then counter twice in quick succession the poor Argentinian replacement scrum half Bazan Velez. He also carried the ball two or three times with authority, even if he did not make a spectacular escape. His performance was remarkable enough to earn him the official title of “man of the match”, more in the name of constant and efficient activity than to reward brilliant shots. “ My nineteen tackles? It's okay, my shoulders don't hurt… The defense allowed us to plug some holes. As for my two consthey were prepared, Fabien had told us about it. We had a particular technique with Julien Marchand who linked up with the ruck to allow the big ones to come and counter with a strong connection. »
On the match itself, he was satisfied with the feeling of “control” conveyed by the French. « We were disappointed with the start of the match against the All Blacks and so for us the first minutes against the Pumas were crucial. Today we felt the Argentinians wanted to do something in France with their usual grinta. We had a good first half, despite a few problems. In the second half, we relied a lot on our defense because the Argentinians came back. We won with less possession, you tell me? Yes, we could have been more disciplined, but we recovered a few shots and closed a few gaps thanks to our defense. Am I taking revenge? No, the last two weeks were great, we had a great time, it's nice to end the tour with three victories. I saw Marko Gazzotti start his career today and I'm very happy for him. »
France
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