after the draw against Italy, the Blues have “morale in their socks” – Libération

Stunned by an ultimately lucky draw against Italy, during the 3rd day of the Six Nations Tournament, the coach and the French players can no longer minimize the weight of the disappointments since the ©failure in the World Cup.

Fifteen days after this “perfect content”, in the words of coach Fabien Galthié, who had plunged all observers into an abyss of disbelief, regarding to evoke a victory miraculously stolen from Scotland after a generous decision by the referee, what snakes would like to make us swallow the management, to qualify a no less improbable and yet a pathetic draw, conceded this Sunday, February 25 at home – due to the lack of Stade de France, the match was relocated to the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Asq – €“ against Italy? A final penalty, a priori easy, which crashes into the tricolor post and here, at 13-13, France is credited with two new points in the standings. Which, on the evening of the third (of five) days of the 2024 Six Nations Tournament, places it in a logical and pitiful fourth place, given the slush observed since the start of the tournament. ™a test, which, naively, we imagined would otherwise be redemptive, once the dreams of the World Cup were gone.

At the time of the debrief, Fabien Galthié therefore appeared this time differently shaken and, therefore, lucid, admitting that “this draw could have been a defeat”. However, the guiding idea remained balanced (“we are in tough times, but there is neither despondency nor anger”), with this minimum of bad faith, or extralucidity (we don’t really know anymore), however, prompting the selector to add: “It seems enormous, the difference between the past and the present. But there isn’t much on the photo, on the film, to change the quality of the match.”

“Painful moment”

On the players’ side, the “past”, as well as the “present”, side by side under the closed roof of the stadium, the sound of the bell was however substantially identical. Captain of the day, in the absence of Grégory Alldritt, and author of the only French try at the very start of the match, the Toulon third line, Charles Ollivon, closely associated with the ™epic of the past four years, recognized the “bitter taste” left by this “painful moment”, without admitting that there was anything wrong with it. “broken”.

A disappointment which could have been compensated for by two great stories of the day: that of the Toulouse winger, Matthis Lebel, called up the day before the match, following the stiff neck of the youngster, Louis Bielle-Biarey, and who found himself catapulted into the starting spot at kick-off. Or that of Toulon’s third line, Esteban Abadie, who, returning in the 65th minute, experienced his first selection before the eyes of his family. Alas, dropped into the minefield, the two boys had to put aside their sense of individual pride, drowned in the collective waste. “I would have liked to tell you about my express arrival with more cheerfulness, but it was shattered by the result. The public is rightly demanding and we have not been able to reciprocate the support they give us. We have to nourish something from within and it has to come from everyone,” analyzed the first, with the foresight of a veteran, even though he only has six years in total. elections. “Playing for the first time in the French team remains a childhood dream. But that was not the imagined scenario,” conceded the second, describing the “frustration” and “sadness” of a tricolor locker room, “ “morale in the socks”. However, the one who “joins the group” after watching the World Cup on TV keeps a generous smile when he describes a “complicated phase e, where we must stay united: no one has lost their qualities. The good players are there. Simply, there is a collective momentum and a magic that must be rediscovered.”

Otherwise, also defending the colors of his country, a certain Antoine Dupont also scored two tries this weekend, the second, essential, even allowing his team to qualify for the semi-final, against New Zealand (the match being scheduled for Sunday February 25, around 10 p.m.). A bad dream fueled by reminiscences of the World Cup? No, just the result of the rugby sevens tournament that, alongside the Six Nations, France is playing in Canada, in Vancouver. Where, more than ever, the essential tricolor captain has chosen to go and have a little good time. Chalice!