You can follow this meeting live on the France 24 website.
A year after beating New Zealand at the Stade de France, France hopes that the Dionysian enclosure will bring them luck again, on November 5, against another team from the Southern Hemisphere, Australia.
She will then challenge South Africa, the reigning world champion, in Marseille and will finish in Toulouse against Japan, who have just delivered a superb performance in Tokyo against the All Blacks punctuated by a narrow defeat (31-38).
The Blues and Australia faced each other three times in the summer of 2021. Traveling to Oceania with a much-revamped squad that included many young players, the Blues then managed to win a test match and lost both others very little.
This tour, which ended with a defeat in Brisbane (33-30) on July 17, 2021, had finally fed regrets within the French group.
Despite their lack of international experience, the players had largely rivaled the Wallabies.
And coach-selection Fabien Galthié had praised their involvement as well as the quality of the French breeding ground.
There was no doubt that the XV of France would not be long in garnering convincing victories.
The promises materialized the following autumn, with three home victories against Georgia, Argentina and the All Blacks.
The series has not stopped since and the XV of France has remained undefeated for almost sixteen months, with ten consecutive victories, including four obtained away from home.
And he won a Grand Slam in the highly anticipated Six Nations Tournament this year, the last being in 2010.
A status of favorite to assume
These brilliant results allowed the French to temporarily occupy, at the beginning of July, the first place in the world ranking, a first since its creation in 2003. With, as a result, a new status to assume.
"The Blues have gone from the position of hunters to that of hunted. France is expected and it will be interesting to see how the players will manage the pressure", explains Pierre Berbizier, former coach of the XV of France and various clubs of the Top14.
The statements of the Australian colossus William Skelton illustrate the words of the French coach.
"We want to play against the best teams in the world and for me, the French are currently the best in the world", explained the second row during an interview granted this week to RMC Sport.
He will also face several teammates from Stade Rochelais on Saturday, the club where he has been playing since the summer of 2020.
The Australians will seek Saturday to end the current series of the French, which is more in a stadium that they will find in a few months on the occasion of the Rugby World Cup.
A meeting for which they can count on the presence of the very experienced Michael Hooper, back with the Australian XV after three months of absence for personal reasons.
Last Saturday, the third row was a starter for the Australian team which won in Scotland (16-15).
Antoine Dupont with the baguette
"To prepare for the World Cup, the French must rub shoulders with the best," explains Pierre Berbizier.
And if Australia is less frightening than the next opponent, South Africa, it remains a formidable formation, very unpredictable.
Pierre Berbizier thinks the French will be keen to get their revenge after the two defeats conceded during the 2021 tour. They will also want to show "that they are capable of beating everyone anywhere", adds- he.
This objective will guide in particular Antoine Dupont, elected best player in the world in 2021, who will wear the stripes of captain of the Blues against the Australians.
The scrum-half will make up the French hinge with Romain Ntamack, his friend from Stade Toulousain, Within the pack, third-line Charles Ollivon will find himself a starting spot after several months of absence due to an injury to the knee.
🇫🇷⚡️🇦🇺 It's happening 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊 𝒂̀ 𝟐𝟏𝒉 at @StadeFrance and we can't wait to see you again!
🎟️ https://t.co/EIkGRgEULO
𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐙 𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐔𝐒!
🔥 #FRAAUS #XVdeFrance #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/z4ph6q19KA
– France Rugby (@FranceRugby) November 3, 2022
If the French players and management are waiting with great impatience for the clash against South Africa - a team that the XV of France has not beaten for thirteen years -, they know that to approach this meeting in the best conditions , they need a prior success against Australia.
A new step to take for a tricolor formation whose ambition, with this autumn tour, is to preserve its invincibility over the year 2022 and to consolidate its position as favorite for the next World Cup.
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