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Jolmes first
Galthié: "We left our two second lines in France, Paul Willemse, who is recovering from a sprained knee, and Romain Taofifenua. This is an opportunity to look for a right-handed profile. Thomas Jolmès is in good shape, he had a good season with Bordeaux. Looking at the first two weeks of work, he seems very relevant in his actions, in his game, in his role. Comfortable too".
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Tanga, the other rookie
Galthié: "He had a very good season with Racing. We had selected him among the 42 this winter but he had injured himself off the pitch, with a deep cut. We were able to select him with the Barbarians, which been an intense week of work. Yoan was very efficient during the week, with 80 minutes of very high level at the position of N.8 when we were for more than half time at fourteen..."
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Ollivon's Return
Galthié: "He returned to the tour with the gathering in Monaco with the Baabaas as captain. He is very comfortable, he has regained all his abilities, he is in the process of stringing together matches. He has played again in the spring with Toulon and was one of those who allowed the club to become competitive again very quickly.He had surgery a little over a year ago.He is really in the good intermediate times, even beyond. He is going fast, he is good, fresh, available and happy to be there. He has already confirmed with this match against England (with the Baabaas, editor's note), he has a second captaincy and a new cape with the French team".
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The weight of the record
Galthié: "It's clear that the numbers are there (eight wins in a row, editor's note). But we haven't really mentioned the subject: we're working on performance, on the group. Adding the additional weight of a possible record (with a 9th consecutive success, editor's note), that's not the point. All the players want to grab this opportunity, they want to seize their chance. It's a hungry team: we see it in our profile of our team, these are players who want to compete and join the rotation. Anything is possible, we often tell players: + You are the one who enters the locker room, you are the one who takes the jersey We are here to put the best team in France, to prepare you, but it is you who are the authors of your destiny. These players have a lot ofappetite and they all know what for".
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Jalibert at the hinge
Galthié: "We find him as a player who is very hungry. He is a competitor, he had a difficult end to the season, he was injured a lot, he was in a difficult situation, he missed a lot of matches "He's very young, but he's paid the consequences of a long series of matches. He's regaining his means, he's fresh, he wants to. He belongs to this category of players who are very happy to take up the challenge." .
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The unknown Japan
Raphaël Ibanez (general manager of the XV of France): "Japan is a team that is progressing: they achieved great feats during the 2015 World Cup against South Africa, during the FIFA Cup. world 2019 by reaching the quarter-finals or in 2017 by drawing against the French team. It is a team that plays exciting rugby, full of energy. A team that, in its system, presents players who have the sense of sacrifice, who know how to push their limits. In this context, it will require us to adapt and we expect a tough fight".
© 2022 AFP