This is a statistic that gives hope. Since the creation of the Rugby World Cup in 1987, the XV of France has qualified for the final every 12 years (1987, 1999, 2011). If the rule is respected, the Blues of Fabien Galthié will therefore not be far from offering France, on October 28, the first world title in its history in the final at the Stade de France.
But the path will be steep with an insane first group match against New Zealand (September 8), back to top level after an air hole in 2022, then a cutthroat quarter-final against Ireland or Ireland. South Africa before moving on to two last cutthroat matches.
Reverted to fourth in the world at the start of this competition, France is nevertheless one of the favourites, relying in particular on a generation of golden players such as scrum half and captain Antoine Dupont, number 8 Grégory Alldritt, hooker Julien Marchand or winger Damian Penaud. Even deprived of Romain Ntamack, injured in the knee during the preparation, the Blues can believe in their destiny. As a reminder, in addition to New Zealand, they will face Uruguay (September 14), Namibia (September 21) and Italy (October 6) in pool.
