Tokyo (AFP)

Wesley Fofana package, Sofiane Guitoune back, Pierre-Louis Barassi neophyte: the pair of centers of the XV of France Fickou-Vakatawa, author of a great first half Saturday against Argentina (23-21), has everything for s' to install during the World Cup in Japan.

Of course, they died out after the break as all the Blues, a recurring evil for this team. Fickou could even have passed, by his own admission, a "very bad night", guilty of a plating in the air - certainly harmless - on Emiliano Boffelli who gave the Argentine back a match point.

The goal scorer's shot went just past the left-post amount, and the French opened the road to the quarter-finals. Fickou and Vakatawa took a prominent part in this success, involved in both trials in an almost perfect first half.

- Argentineans with a cold -

On the first (18th), Vakatawa "colds" Argentinean captain Pablo Matera by stopping his race before going off to offer a two-on-one to Fickou. The Parisian does the same with Matias Moroni in the interior, sails and extends the arm to flatten.

On the second (22nd), the French three quarters are in tune: Fickou sets the defense of the Pumas, which benefits Vakatawa, who launches Maxime Médard and Damian Penaud a pass after contact in the right tempo.

Defensively, the pair of centers was solid when the boat took the water. "It's our defense that makes us win this game," said Vakatawa. Who has had less time than the others to integrate the defensive system (rush defense) wanted by the coach Fabien Galthié, assistant to Jacques Brunel to boost the summer preparation.

And for good reason: the player Racing 92, neglected since he went from winger to center in 2017-2018, had not been selected in June - as a certain Mathieu Bastareaud at the same position - in the initial list of 31 players. It was the package of Geoffrey Doumayrou, mid-August, which offered him in extremis a seat on the plane for Japan.

- "I had only one bullet" -

And Thursday, Brunel announced the first tenure in the center of Fiji original, he had yet ignored this position for two seasons, because of the package of Fofana, N.1 choice staff during the preparation. Guitoune, who visibly less impressed the coaching, was not even on the bench.

"I think I only had one ball for this World Cup," Vakatawa responded after the match. "If I (I) missed, the World Cup for me it was over because Wesley will come back from injury, there is Gaël and Sofiane who have been there for two months." False: the hierarchy has turned to disfavor Guitoune and a few hours later, the Federation announced the final package of Fofana, replaced by Barassi (Lyon) in the group of 31.

And Fickou in all this? The package of Fofana, the only real center of the group, makes it even more indispensable: it is he who endorsed the N.12, a position where the technical baggage and the direction of the distribution prevail compared to the N.13, where premium speed.

The other N.12 possible is called Romain Ntamack, used as such in a role of second opener in Toulouse, if the N.10 was to be entrusted to Camille Lopez. The French attack takes shape. It's never too late...

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