for the Blues, the time to go beyond the promises

For twelve years, the trophy cabinet of the XV of France has been gathering dust. Twelve years since the French men’s rugby team has been trying to add a 26^and copy of the cup rewarding the winner of the Six Nations Tournament. Convincing winners of the All Blacks in the fall of 2021, and riding a wave of enthusiasm for two years, the men of coach Fabien Galthié aspire, in the 2022 edition of the Tournament, which begins Saturday February 5 and Sunday February 6, to fill this void. And now, they have the favor of predictions.

The label of Tournament favorite is similar to Captain Haddock’s band-aid: when you have it, you try to get rid of it, even if it means passing it on to your neighbour. Roué technician of the XV of the Rose, Eddie Jones has no equal to put pressure on the opposing shoulders. Those of the Tricolors, in this case.

To hear him, his England team – diminished, it is true – would almost be a squad of juniors opposed to the armies of Alexander. “Les Bleus are at the top of the Six Nations, they are the huge favorites, everyone expects them to win, Assaulted the Australian coach of the English in recent days. And if they don’t win, the French public will be disappointed. » Him, of course, a bit less.

Fabien Galthié and his men do not intend to get caught in the web woven by their adversaries. “We don’t bother with that., smiles the center Gaël Fickou. Everyone thinks what they want. [Nous voir favoris] must please our supporters, but we are focused on our objective of winning all the matches. Since Fabien arrived, we play each competition to win it. »

Objective: “Win, fast”

When he arrived at the helm of the XV of France, after the 2019 World Cup, Fabien Galthié set clear objectives: “Win, fast. Matches, titles, to get back into the top 3 in the world. » With 64% of victories and convincing performances, his flock made forget the poor results of the past decade.

But they were a bit short when it came to winning the title: beaten in goal average in 2020 in the Tournament (second, behind the English) and finishing the 2021 edition with a taste of unfinished business (second, behind the Welsh). “I hear this injunction: “We must win”. It goes up, it’s a background noise “, notes Fabien Galthié.

In clear progress for a little over two years, the French players are aware of their potential and dream of concretizing it by a title. This was already the goal last season. Third line Dylan Cretin acknowledges this, but assures that “This year, we absolutely want to win this tournament”. “Starting it without hoping to win it would be the worst mistake to make”, he insists.

The Welsh, holders of the trophy, the Irish, revanchists, the English, reinvigorated, and the Scots, now without complexes, will show the same determination. “That’s the difficulty and the beauty of the Tournament. Every year, not just one team can win it.”, breathes Dylan Cretin.

The World Cup in sight

A title, conquered by assuming the label of favorites, would do the greatest good to captain Antoine Dupont and his teammates. It would validate the progress – undeniable – of this still young team, and pave the way towards the 2023 World Cup, which will take place at home.

In this World Cup, around which the whole blue project is built, the XV of France will also have to deal with strong pressure. “A trophy helps! », assures former England coach Stuart Lancaster, interviewed in The Team. Under his aegis, the XV de la Rose finished second in the Six Nations four times (from 2012 to 2015), then struggled, during “his” 2015 World Cup (eliminated in the first round). “A title would have given the players momentum and put the fans behind their team. »

From there to making the title in the Tournament a must? “France have often won the Tournament, but we have never won the World Cup, so winning the Tournament never guaranteed a title of world champion”, nuance the third row François Cros. “If we could lift the trophy, it would be wonderful for our generation so promising, concludes Captain Antoine Dupont, in The Team. Because being promising, if it’s not validated by titles, doesn’t have much use. »

Four nations and Italy will work this weekend to prevent them from achieving their goals.