The Blues coach was very satisfied with the performance of his team, victorious 36-14 over Ireland on Thursday evening at the Stade de France.
You hoped your players would have the flame. You have been heard…
Fabien Galthié. – Yes. This is the start of a benchmark tournament, like in 2020 (24-17 against England) et 2021 (Italy-France, 10-50). The energy and commitment were present. It’s firstly thanks to them. They really wanted to play this evening (Thursday). To play together. We felt it during the ten days of preparation. For 50 minutes, they left no space, no hope to the opponent. They followed the framework that we had built and added their offensive and defensive talent. They were very accurate in the offensive animation, the foot-hand alternation was remarkable, even more so in these not easy weather conditions. This is one of the team’s finest performances offensively in a very long time. But we can be even better on our game launches, our first times of play.
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Your players responded presently in the aerial duels. Is that a big satisfaction?
The perfect first half in the aerial duel zone. Those responsible were totally committed, they allowed us to get our hands on these pressure balloons in difficult weather. Even on the ground, the support was always there even though it is more of an Irish specialty.
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I said everything wouldn’t be perfect. You have to be humble at this level, accepting to be wrong. This was the case at times, but not much compared to what was good in this match.
The discipline must have delighted you too?
I thank them. We worked on this plot for ten days. It’s hard to work, it requires a lot of commitment, to change habits. I am amazed by the way they respond. They didn’t give Ireland any chances in the first half, and they regenerated when the opposition wore down…
How do you explain the big air gap between the 50e and the 70e minute ?
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Already because of the Irish team. She is No. 3 in the world, we must not forget that… I said that everything would not be perfect. You have to be humble at this level, accepting to be wrong. This was the case at times, but not much compared to what was good in this match.
Is the entry of a new five from the front at the 50e minute unbalanced your team?
Maybe… But, opposite, there was an excellent team. When you give it some air, it reverses the dynamic. It’s very difficult to stop and yet they managed to regain control to go from 14-0 to 14-7… But the Stade de France brought us a lot of energy. The public helped us regain control.
Comments collected at a press conference
