Kumamoto (Japan) (AFP)
Far from counting for butter, the last group match of the XV of France, Saturday against England in Yokohama, will allow him, after unfinished performances, to gauge himself against one of the favorites of the World Cup in view of the quarterfinals.
From a strictly factual point of view, this "Crunch" will decide the winner of the "chicken of death" (C), and therefore the opponent that will inherit the Blues, in Oita (south), for the start of the final phase.
A victory and they will face, on October 19th, probably Australia, vice-world champion against whom the last two meetings were extremely tight (victory 29-26 in November 2014, defeat 25-23 two years later) .
A defeat (or a draw) and they will challenge the next day a priori Wales, author of the Grand Slam in the last tournament of six nations. After opening the XV de France, at the Stade de France (24-19), going up a disbursement of sixteen points at the end of the first period (16-0), which remains, with that disputed against Argentina in opening of the World Cup (23-21, 20-3 at the break), the most accomplished of the Blues of the last two years.
- "Want to beat us up" -
Can they then, by making themselves the Devil's advocate, choose their opponent, if they are able to do so on the ground?
It would be the choice between plague or cholera, according to Rabah Slimani: "Both are heavy, to choose I do not take either of them."
"Yes we can choose, but come with us on the field and we'll see!" embroider Charles Ollivon.
If the management has the power to decide whether or not to protect, against the XV of the Rose, some incumbents in preparation for the quarterfinal, the players in the field, they can not afford to put the handbrake. Especially against the English.
"A World Cup match, a" Crunch ", we can not neglect it" and considers Ollivon, joined by Slimani: "They want to beat us, too.You can not ignore a match like that."
And especially since the Blues are revenge after being squirmed at Twickenham (44-8) in February in the Tournament.
"This Crunch is very important for the group and the thousands of fans who follow us in Japan, we want to redeem ourselves from our bad performance against them at the tournament, and today we are not scared of anyone," said Grégory Alldritt.
- Intensity and footwork -
Above all, a defeat in such proportions, beyond breaking the current series of four successes (unpublished since 2015), would be a very bad preparation in the context of the quarter-finals. And would resurrect the specter of the World-2015, where the clear defeat against Ireland (24-9) in the last group game, preceded six days before the historic beating (62-13) against the All Blacks in quarterfinals. final.
"We must not say to ourselves, we are in quarters, we will go quiet and we will see + because if we let go and we arrive in quarters hands in pockets it will be complicated. is there to win matches, "Slimani admits.
"We can not go in the spirit of taking 50 (points), think it would not matter because we are in quarters.It is not possible.The best way to prepare the quarter is to make a big match against England "abounds Sofiane Guitoune.
English who "will offer the same intensity" as the Welsh and Australians, according to Poirot.
And if the Blues then cross the XV Leek, face the English gunners Ben Youngs, George Ford and Owen Farrell would be a full-scale rehearsal before being subjected to the fire of the Welsh archers and their surface-to-air missiles.
Rain of candles and kicking kicks are indeed to be expected, historically weak sector of the XV of France, which will also have to raise the cursor in the rucks and to erase his many faults of the hand at the risk of offering ammunition of counterattack to the opponent. Whether English, Welsh or Australian.
© 2019 AFP