To win a last title before the World Cup at home (September 8-October 28), Fabien Galthié's Blues (2nd, 15 points, +46) must count on the English to bring down the Irish (1st, 19 pts, +66) at the same time.
But coach Fabien Galthié does not want to enter into such calculations before the match of the Blues. "To win the tournament, you have to not get the wrong opponent and beat Wales," he said. Our next opponent is Wales and our game is Saturday at the Stade de France. We want to focus on our destiny. After that, the rest doesn't belong to us..."
To continue to believe in an unprecedented double and deprive the XV of the Clover of a first Grand Slam since 2018, the French must beat Wales with the manner, offensive bonus and wide gap as a bonus. In short, it will be necessary to do better than the record in this area, a 36-3 success that dates back to 1991.
Six Nations Tournament 2023, program of the 5th and last day, results © table Vincent LEFAI / AFP
The Blues "in the nails"
At the time, the Blues had passed six tries by Serge Blanco, Jean-Baptiste Lafond, Franck Mesnel, Olivier Roumat, Philippe Saint-André and Philippe Sella, to offer themselves the widest success of the XV of France at home against the same opponent. The record in all competitions dates back to 1998 and a 51-0 defeat at Wembley.
A week after scattering England (53-10) like a puzzle at Twickenhman, the Blues of 2023 are no longer one feat away. "We have a tournament to finish well: we still have a hand on the trophy. We know that it does not depend only on us (...) We will not let ourselves be intoxicated, "warned the coach of the French attack Laurent Labit.
Same speech from Karim Ghezal, co-coach of the Blues in charge of the conquest and specific tasks. "We want to be in a position to win competitions, we are always here even if we do not have all the keys in hand. We always have the possibility to win a match, to be No. 1 in the world at 19:00 after the game. We will then see at 21:00 (after Ireland-England, Editor's note). It would be better if they didn't play but hey... (laughs) We're in the nails and that's the most important thing."
French attack coach Laurent Labit during a training session in Marcoussis, near Paris, on February 22, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP/Archives
The Welsh "in the fight"
The current XV of France has a string of feats of strength: they have won in Wales (2020, first victory since 2010), Ireland (2021, first victory since 2011), Australia (2021, first victory since 1990), Scotland (2022, first victory since 2014) before dominating the legendary All Blacks (2021, first victory since 2009) or the South African world champions (2022, first win since 2009)...
They also gave themselves a historic demonstration at Twickenham. Except that Warren Gatland's men, who must wonder why he returned to the affairs of a team adrift, have set out to spoil the French party.
"The French are the second largest nation in the world. They are a very physical team, who are used to starting strong. It's important: you have to start well to be able to be in the fight until the end. We owe ourselves that," said the Welsh coach.
To bury the French hopes, they will have to go through the Stade de France, where the Blues of Galthié have lost only once since the end of the World Cup-2019. It was in 2020, against Scotland (27-23), a decisive match for the title. Already.
Wales coach Warren Gatland before a Six Nations match against Ireland on February 4, 2023 in Cardiff © Geoff Caddick / AFP / Archives
It will then be time to think about the 2023 World Cup.
© 2023 AFP