The defeats follow one another and are similar for the French rugby players, who face the Australians on Tuesday July 13 at 8 p.m. (12 p.m. in Paris) against the Australians at AAMI Park in Melbourne. On July 7, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, the XV of France, freshly reshaped, again suffered a cruel disillusion.
The Blues led 21-20 against the Wallabies at the end of regulation time and seemed to hold their first victory in Australia in over thirty-one years with their fingertips (last success in the test match of June 30, 1990). But a last badly negotiated touch after the siren, a lost ball and a last penalty transformed by the Australians precipitated the defeat of a team which had, however, shown a promising face despite its youth.
This mania of losing matches in the dying minutes would become almost a usual scenario under the Galthié era. Arrived in January 2020, the coach of the Blues himself recognized after the defeat on Wednesday: “Since we took the France team, apart from the match in Scotland [lors du Tournoi des six nations 2020], almost all of our defeats were in the last action. It’s part of the game. ” But this nevertheless raises questions about the ability of the France team to keep the score, in matches where it should logically have had the last word.
“This match is the French team which loses it all alone, regrets Vincent Clerc, former winger of the XV of France. On the last action, we could have hit anywhere, in touch, in our goal… For me, beyond the fatigue, it was above all the haste and the stress that played a role. ” Pitting yourself against Wallabies in their lair and after such a period of famine is never easy.
A lack of automation
And this, even for experienced players: “It’s the high level, there is necessarily pressure in important games, testifies the former international to 67 selections. When you are ahead of the score, you are under pressure, because you know that you must not make mistakes. ” Even more when they cost as much as that lost balloon after stoppage on Wednesday.
“Maybe he lacks a bit of collective experience at that time”, conceded Fabien Galthié just after the defeat. In the absence of indisputable holders like Antoine Dupont or Romain Ntamack (who stayed in France for the Top 14 final between Toulouse and La Rochelle, on June 25), several players took their first steps with the Blues, like the back Melvyn Jaminet or hooker Gaëtan Barlot.
More or less capped, the players were also disturbed in their preparation. Because of the Covid-19 and a mandatory fourteen-day quarantine to be observed on Australian soil, the Blues had little time to train together. This inevitably creates a lack of automation in the field.
In the absence of indisputable holders like Antoine Dupont or Romain Ntamack, several players took their first steps with the Blues, like the back Melvyn Jaminet or hooker Gaëtan Barlot
“The players touched unpleasant emotions, admitted Fabien Galthié. The psychological aspect will be important [pour la suite de la tournée]. “ Hence his desire to quickly “Switch to the next meeting” and to retain, despite everything, the positive of this first test-match. First, the coach wants to believe that this defeat was of the kind that forge a player and a team. “We need to have this type of experience, which teaches us a lot”, he stressed.
The Blues also displayed an encouraging level of play. Back in their meeting, facing feverish Australians, Galthié’s men quickly established their domination thanks to two tries from Gabin Villière, leading 15-7 at halftime. More unruly in the second half, they allowed the Wallabies to come back. But for Vincent Clerc, despite their youth, the players “Were in control throughout the game. It’s normal that there were some mistakes, but the intensity and the state of mind were so good that they have to save it for their second meeting. “
Changes up front
The former French international wants to be confident about the team’s ability to react and reverse the trend. “What we saw in the first game weren’t the most difficult mistakes to correct… In training, they can practice making the right decisions in the face of fatigue and difficulty. Knowing how to keep lucidity in complicated times. “
For the match on July 13, at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Fabien Galthié decided to renew the holders of the first match, from post 9 to 15 (including scrum half Baptiste Couilloud and back Melvyn Jaminet). The pack of forwards, him, is reworked: Wilfrid Hounkpatin (right pillar), but also Pierre-Henri Azagoh (second row) and Ibrahim Diallo (third row), two world champions under 20 years old in 2018, will know their first selection with the jersey of the XV of France.
For the breeder, these choices are dictated by a “Double objective: to match with this Australian team and to discover talents. We decided not to change our pivotal players for a yes or a no. These players must have confidence ”, he concluded. It remains to be seen whether the Blues will have managed to digest the defeat. After the first match, captain Anthony Jelonch had promised: “ We are very disappointed, but we will raise our heads and Tuesday, we will be ready. “
