Nice (AFP)

New coach, new rejuvenated group, new training methods .... "We have not changed everything", tempered the scrum half of the Blues Antoine Dupont, who still estimated Friday, at ten days from the start of the Six Nations Tournament, that the French team had "a new start",

Q: How was this start to the week?

A: "We had a difficult day or two with very busy days but the staff wanted to bring everyone together from the start of the week. We had to leave by van (Sunday evening, from Toulouse, after the match against Gloucester in the European Cup Editor's note) so we arrived a little late at night. On Monday, we had a lot of meetings because it was important to launch this new adventure, both on the sporting side and in terms of the living environment . We have recovered since then. "

Q: Do you feel like starting from scratch with new staff and new players?

A: "No zero, no, but after each World Cup, we feel that it is something new that is starting up again. There is a whole new staff who is there, the workforce has changed a lot ... This is true for us but for other nations as well. Most of them change coaches and the group changes a lot too. This is a new start. "

Q: We talk a lot about training and these new methods implemented by Fabien Galthié and his staff.

A: "We did all the preparation (for the World Cup, note) with training like that so we were able to familiarize ourselves with the method of Thibaut Giroud and Fabien Galthié, who, from the start, advocated the intensity and the difficulty of training. We got a taste for it this summer and there, we find this mode of operation. There, it saves us a lot of time, a large part of the game plan had already been brought by Fabien Galthié and Laurent Labit We haven't changed everything, we have kept part of the basic system before, including announcements, which are easier and save everyone's time. Then there are new skills that are arrivals with Karim Ghezal, William Servat or Shaun Edwards who each bring their own leg. So there are still quite a few new things. It's not a revolution but there are still new aspects. They have a lot worked, both our game system and e how we should train. We felt an evolution in the way of working. "

© 2020 AFP