Saint-Denis (AFP)

"We took over the automatisms, the benchmarks ..." Seven months after his last match, the XV of France "is not starting from zero", explained captain Charles Ollivon, Friday, on the eve of facing the country of Wales.

Q: Does the in camera change anything?

A: "It doesn't change anything about the preparation for the week. The approach is not at all different: we analyzed the same things as usual. Afterwards, it's true that we want to thank our supporters because we know that they will be behind us but we will not have contact ... It will change us a little but it does not fundamentally change our approach to the preparation of the match. "

Q: You only have one week of preparation.

How do you understand it?

A: "Honestly, we're not starting from scratch. It's continuity. We're in our eighth week of training, in fact. We really felt like we parted ways yesterday. We went back to the automatisms. , the benchmarks ... Everything came back in a fairly fluid way. We resumed our forward march. We also have acquired the Tournament so it allowed us to find each other quite easily, to find the automatisms but also the state of 'spirit, our team and what makes us strong. "

Q: Is this a "friendly" match or a match to prepare Ireland for next week?

A: "It's a match against Wales. It's an international match, a test match. You call it what you want. We know the opponent, we know the intensity they will offer us. tomorrow on the field. It will be very serious and we expect a lot of commitment. "

Interview by Nicholas Mc ANALLY

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