The pack will still be one of the main assets of the XV of France this Friday in Cardiff, against Wales, to hope to win a fourth victory in this Six Nations Tournament.
Both powerful and mobile, the French forwards are perfectly suited to the game sought by coach Fabien Galthié.
The wealth of French rugby players makes it possible to maintain a high level of performance after the incumbents leave or in the event of a hard blow.
From our special correspondent in Cardiff,
After five months of absence followed by a single small match with his Cardiff team, Josh Navidi, his rasta cut and his convalescent shoulder will already find the Welsh selection this Friday.
Leek XV boss Wayne Pivac had no choice.
He rushed the return of his precious flanker because he had nothing better at hand to try to calm the fury of the French forwards in the regroupings.
If the general public swoons over the starts of Antoine Dupont or the elegance of Romain Ntamack, the opponents fear at least as much the qualities of the front eight, which has cleared one by one so far, backhoe style, the obstacles on the road to the Grand Slam.
A rare event in such a traumatic sport, his line-up at kick-off this Friday will be the same as in the two previous matches, against Ireland (30-24) then Scotland (17-36).
The powerful Welsh No. 8 Taulupe Faletau, yet not the type to get a snack at recess, called on his colleagues to mobilize before the shock at the Millennium.
“Otherwise, they will just brutalize us throughout the match”, fears the third center line of 1.87 m for 110 kg and crumbs.
“The French forwards master all areas, the scrum, the touch and they are efficient in the contact zones, salutes Sébastien Bruno, former coach of the blue scrum under the Jacques Brunel era, completed during the 2019 World Cup. It is a reference at the moment on the world level.
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A polymuscular France – South Africa to come
And maybe even THE reference, after the successful crash tests against big names like New Zealand (40-25) last fall, or Ireland in this 6 Nations Tournament?
“I think that the strongest pack for a while is that of South Africa [que la France defierra en Novembre], judges the former international hooker, now engaged on the side of the selection of the under 20s years and Stade Niçois (National, 3rd division).
But we are in the process of catching up.
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“We talk a lot about the South African pack, but you have to see sector by sector”, nuance Julien Puricelli, the sidelines coach at Lyon OU, where Cretin evolve (holder against Italy at the opening of the Tournament, 37-10 ), Bamba, Taofifenua, Rey or the seriously injured Geraci, members of the extended group of Blues.
“Defensively, in the general movement, for me, the French are the best.
The pack is very homogeneous, capable of bringing danger offensively and defensively.
All players are capable of doing anything.
The Boks have a big punch and a big conquest but they are maybe less mobile in general movement, it makes their game more stereotyped.
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Mobility, this is one of the great secrets of the return to the highest level of the "big" French and therefore of the team in general, after a decade as gloomy as a film by the Dardenne brothers.
"The front five is the greatest added value for two or three years, whereas previously the sector was singled out", loose Puricelli, who talks about the Blues from time to time with his friend Karim Ghezzal, another Lyon figure in charge of the key alongside Galthié.
Lose pounds to gain weight
The "tractors" of the 2nd line Willemse and Taofifenua (package this Friday due to Covid) have dropped a few kilos to be able to drive a little faster and further, the right pillar Atonio has never been as efficient as since he is thirty years old while the left pillar Cyril Baille and the hooker-scraper Julien Marchand sit at the top of the world hierarchy in their position.
As for Cameron Woki, he has beefed up his game and the rest to be able to climb to the 2nd line, and let the Jelonch – Alldritt – Cros trio play the big carriers in the 3rd line (n ° 8 Rochelais with 41 balls carried dominates the individual classification of the 6 Nations).
"I had some doubts about Cameron's ability to be able to keep up with the pace while producing the melee efforts which are substantial in the 2nd line at this level", admits Olivier Brouzet, former "second latte" with 72 selections between 1994 and 2003 , then until 2020, director of development at UBB where Woki evolves.
“But he did very well.
It offers the solution in touch to be able to counter the opposing teams.
I had been quite seduced by the Le Roux – Willemse pair, but hey, this Woki – Willemse coupling is not so bad.
This 3rd line may lack a ball player like Olivier Magne, capable of going to play in the middle of the field.
That's my only downside, and it's not very substantial.
» Woki has so far recorded 17 touchdowns, the second best total of the 6 Nations, after the Italian Federico Ruzza (19).
A well-filled tank
In addition to the quality of the holders, the management can rely to complete the job after 50 or 60 minutes of play on that of the "finishers".
A formulation ultimately not so LinkedIn as it might seem when it began to flourish in the com of the FFR.
With the generation of U20 world champions in 2018 and 2019, wealth is everywhere, to the point that the serious injury of Charles Ollivon, 3rd line and charismatic captain from the start of the Galthié era, was digested without a bloat.
Come on, if you had to nitpick, and without wanting to upset Haouas, Bamba or Aldegheri who are pushing behind the incumbent Atonio (the buggers are beefy too), the right pillar position remains perhaps the most "fragile".
“It is the great drama of French rugby, notes Brouzet, now a restaurateur and winemaker in Bordeaux.
It has always been a rare commodity.
But there are still some players who show the tip of their nose.
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And who move constantly, far from the old-fashioned "pilar", a massive player going in small stride from one scrum to another.
“It was our big problem, confesses Sébastien Bruno, in a reference to the forward-Galthié.
We had very physical players, we had great first halves, but we often exploded at the end.
The physical trainer Thibault Giroud really did a lot of work, and the management found the profile for this game.
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Runners, tacklers, retrievers
A game where you hit a lot (the Blues have won more than 3,000 m on foot in the first three games of the Tournament, far more than the other teams) and where you run as much to chase the opponent and ultimately recover the ball.
The French secateurs and recuperators (Anthony Jelonch, with 38 tackles, is in the Top 5 of the competition) then go to great lengths to cause the famous "turn-overs" (21, best total with England) and score tries at the same time as the morale of the opponent.
Much to the delight of Shaun Edwards, the defense coach.
“What I really like about this French team is what it gives off in the desire to play, to win, in the investment of the players, enthuses Puricelli.
There is a real cohesion.
Now all that remains is to win titles.
To begin with, we would not spit on a Grand Slam, which we have been waiting for since the Sarkozy era, in 2010.
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