Fabien Galthié and Eddie Jones, two coaches upset before their reunion at Twickenham.

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Sipa

  • England and France meet this Saturday at Twickenham, in very different sporting situations.

  • The XV de la Rose has already lost two matches in this VI Nations Tournament, while the Blues can aim for the Grand Slam.

  • For very different reasons, the coaches Eddie Jones and Fabien Galthié are playing big during this Crunch.

It's not just in football where everything goes very quickly.

Take rugby and the cases of Eddie Jones and Fabien Galthié, who will come face to face this Saturday at Twickenham.

At the beginning of December, the sixty-year-old Australian was the coach of an England XV not always attractive, but winner of the Six Nations Tournament and then of the baroque Autumn Cup.

The Lotois for his part perfectly directed his "arrow of time", at the head of a French team in full rebirth after a black decade.

The talent of the Dupont generation was married with an unexpected depth of bench, revealed at Twickenham last December despite a battle lost to sudden death (22-19) with the Ducat, Moefana or even Neti on the ground.

Jalibert holder alongside Dupont to face England on Saturday via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/wWzjJ9fmkb

- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) March 11, 2021

Three months later, isn't the populace asking for the guillotine for the two monarchs, Place de Greve or in front of Whitehall Palace, it depends.

Before the Crunch, the Rose simply beat Italy (41-18) - the minimum union therefore - but lost against Scotland at home (6-11, a first for 38 years) then took a rouste in the country of Wales (40-24).

“This match against France is the one we really expect,” Jones explained in a more than agreed statement from the English federation, released Thursday with the starting XV.

The communication according to Galthié

The same day, Galthié appeared in a press videoconference, flanked by manager Raphaël Ibañez, to announce his incumbents and his “finishers”, according to the jargon in force since taking office.

But more than the choice of Jalibert to the detriment of Ntamack at the opening, or the possibility of climbing an additional step towards the first Grand Slam since 2010, it was question of the role of the coach in the "Bubblegate".

This story of a burst health bubble brought French rugby down from its clouds, with 17 positive cases for Covid-19 and the postponement of the match against Scotland.

In a monotonous voice, the French boss, who had not yet publicly expressed himself on the subject, referred his interlocutors to the internal report which exonerates him, despite his proven and not really secret outputs far from Marcoussis.

Three times, Galthié, cured after having contracted the disease, released the same line: “The protocol protects us well but the zero risk does not exist.

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Mike Brown, slayer of Eddie Jones

For each slightly personal question, he preferred the “we” to the “I”.

“Absolutely all of our actions were done in accordance with protocol.

The message of the Galthié-Ibañez duo is clear: forget the controversy, bring out your blue white red flags and support us whatever the cost in the face of the perfidious Albion.

Jones, he absolutely needs a success on the hereditary enemy to push back, at least for a time, the criticisms which relate to the sad performances of his team.

And cut the cackle of former international back Mike Brown, still active on the Harlequins side, but also a columnist in the

Daily Mail:

"I can't take this game at the foot of incessant pressure and I'm sure that viewers can no longer either", had dropped after the Scottish shower the darling of Christian Jeanpierre, angry with Jones since his non- summons for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Too stereotypical, not creative enough, the criticisms of Brown and other British followers concern the game, but also the personality of the authoritarian coach.

The clean-shaven rear even calls on his former teammates "to have the courage to challenge him."

Not sure that the Saracens players (Farrell, George, Itoje, the Vunipola brothers ...) have too much desire or even the legitimacy to do so at present, both their lack of competition, while their club has been demoted to the second division and barely begins its season, is sorely felt.

At the Blues, officially, everything is rolling

The "leadership" of Eddie Jones, much vaunted with Japan then with England finalist of the 2019 World Cup, therefore passes for authoritarianism when the results are no longer at the rendezvous.

Tuesday, in front of the press (or rather in front of the screens of the journalists), Jones had however kindly conceded that his training "was going through a period of transition" at the end of which "70% of this team [would] go up to the World Cup, but that will depend on the desire of the players, their form, their physical condition ”.

This is still nearly a third of the current selections on the floor, and future frustrations to manage.

None of this on the Blue side, swore, spat.

The group met on Sunday evening after nine days away from the contaminated CNR.

We talked a little internal report and health protocol, then the week took place "in a good mood", according to all the players called to testify from a distance, Tuesday then Wednesday.

Number 8 Grégory Alldritt described as "rumors" the rumors about an annoyance of the group vis-à-vis certain freedoms taken by Galthié.

Not sure, however, that the new government belt and suspenders doctrine withstands a first victory at Twickenham since 2007.

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