It’s a time that the majority of players from the XV of France lined up against England for their “final” of the Six Nations Tournament, Saturday March 19, cannot know. Thirty years ago, opposed to the same English, the Blues had hit rock bottom. In a choppy encounter, the low blows had paced the game. “The savagery of the rivalry has reached such a level that it had to be remedied”then noted the Guardian. Largely beaten by the hated rival (13-31), the Blues had, for the only time in their history, ended the meeting with two expulsions.
“It hadn’t been a particularly violent match, remembers former hooker Vincent Moscato – one of the two expelled tricolors with Grégoire Lascubé. Not more violent than the others in any case. It had been stolen by the referee, but because our image was not good. »
For the one who daily hosts the “Moscato Show” program on RMC, “the image of lawless savages” which then stuck to the Blues was not only due to the instillations in the Anglo-Saxon press by the hooker Brian Moore “that the French are incorrigible rogues, violent moreover”. “Our image belongs to us, we were probably responsible for it, supports the former hooker of the Blues. But she influenced the referee. »
If the Franco-English rivalry has retained its salt, rugby in 2022 no longer has much to do with that practiced before the turn of professionalism. In his own way, the current England manager, Eddie Jones, prolongs the art of putting pressure on; but the XV of France, one match away from winning the tenth Grand Slam in the history of the tricolor Ovalie, is now doing everything not to lend itself to criticism.
“Violence has become a weapon against yourselves”
“Thirty years ago, you had to scare the opponent first, and then we talked about rugby.picture former third-line Imanol Harinordoquy. Today, we have the means to scare the opponent without having to throw punches. » For the former “Leaping Basque” of the Blues, the increase in the penalties incurred has prompted the players to “keep your hands in your pockets”.
Finished – to a large extent – the vicious gestures in the scrum entries, or in the rucks (these groupings after plating). Violence, which once served to mark the adversary, “has become a weapon against yourself”. In 2019, the Blues paid dearly for the nudge “indefensible” of their second line Sébastien Vahaamahina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Wales.
“It’s not ancient history, we saw it no further than two years ago in Scotland with Mohamed Haouas”, recalls Imanol Harinordoquy. In this first Tournament of the XV of France grind Fabien Galthié, the coach installed at the end of 2019, the Blues lost their nerves in their fourth match, multiplying the faults before the tricolor pillar was expelled for a snitch on a Scotsman during of a general fight. “There was a lot of pressure around this match, with the Grand Slam loomingsummarizes Harinordoquy. We felt a lot of excitement in the team, so the Scots pressed where it hurt and a player unpinned. »
If France lost control and, at the same time, the meeting (17-28), it learned from its misadventure in Edinburgh. “When we fall, we remember the lessonscolded Fabien Galthié afterwards. These are things that we cannot achieve on the pitch vis-à-vis us, team-mates and supporters. »
Third line of the Blues, Grégory Alldritt corroborates. “Emotionally, we had managed less well in Scotland two years ago, or against Argentina [cet automne] where there had been some skirmishes. But when we go out, we learned for the next game. » Fortified by two years in which they rolled their hump together, the French apply since the start of the competition not to provide their opponents with ammunition that they could exploit.
“We know how to manage our moods very well”
This obsession is not new. It dates back to the Bernard Laporte era. Then coach, the current president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) was illustrated by a blower to his men during half-time of a match of the 2002 Tournament against Italy. Filmed without his knowledge, his “No faults” had become a slogan, taken over by advertising. “It’s the evolution of our sport, in modern rugby, every point is expensive”summarizes Vincent Moscato.
This development also recorded the disappearance of the expeditious justice of the adversary. “Ten years ago, if the referee didn’t do his job, you were punished when you were smart on the pitch”, exposes Imanol Harinordoquy. Offside players no longer get punished by the opposing side. “This leaves a little too much room for those who like to talk or who play to the limit”regrets the former French third-line.
On Saturday, the Blues expect the talented English second-line Maro Itoje to make life difficult for them, always at the limit but rarely sanctioned. Co-trainer of the forwards, Karim Ghezal assured this week that he had briefed his men on the game of number 4 of the XV de la Rose. “We are looking for mastery of the conditions, to be able to adapt to the opponent’s game, and then mastery of refereeing. »
The French staff has been reinforced for a year by the former international referee Jérôme Garcès. “We integrated discipline into all aspects of the game, exhibited this at the start of the Tournament. The important thing is to erase all the easy mistakes. » Now good students, the Blues no longer offer “easy” penalties to their opponents because of their indiscipline. “We are talking about game fouls, not those of violence, says Vincent Moscato. They don’t do it because they dominate, they advance in defense, they apply themselves and they are vigilant. »
This attention to detail is not the prerogative of the Blues. Penalized in their last game – their second line Charlie Ewels was sent off after 82 seconds of play for hazardous plating on an Irishman – the English have focused this week on the height of their tackles. To avoid being sanctioned by the referee, or by their opponents, who would take advantage of poorly controlled gestures to speed up the game. “We know the English, we are used to their chambers of players under tension, but we stay in our corner and we don’t talk too muchconcludes the French opening half Romain Ntamack. We know how to manage our moods very well. »
Sign of a team sure of its strength, the XV of France approaches its “final” of the Tournament without worrying about intimidating the opponent. France is still scary across the Channel, but not for the same reasons. And it’s a safe bet that Saturday, the Stade de France will attend a France-England diametrically opposed to that disputed at the Parc des Princes thirty years ago.
