FRANCE ARE DUE to arrive in Ireland tomorrow afternoon after spending the last few days training in Rome ahead of Saturday’s massive Six Nations clash with Ireland.
Les Bleus’ head coach Fabien Galthie decided against bringing his squad back to France following Sunday’s narrow win over Italy as they looked to limit the effects of a six-day turnaround between the games.
As Paris-based AFP journalist Illtud Dafydd outlined on today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly Extra - available to members of The42 every Monday and Wednesday – there was possibly more to the French thinking around staying on in Rome.
“There’s an element of that six-day turnaround and there’s also an element of Galthie wanting to keep his players fresh and energised with things,” explained Dafydd.
“They spent two weeks before the Six Nations in a town called Capbreton, which is just up the coast from Bayonne on the Atlantic coast. They were in a really, really grubby hotel down in Capbreton and I think it was potentially to give the players a bit of context to what real life is, to realise that all of France is behind them. You need to get around the whole country to appreciate the support they have.
“Also, there was the element of going to Rome where they’re in a five-star hotel a stone’s throw from the Vatican, just over the river Tiber from the Pantheon. So it’s a totally different environment but that also gets them energised.
“They’re much more used to Marcoussis, which is the drab FFR headquarters near Paris that needs a lick of paint and a bit of modernisation. Maybe there’s an element of Galthie also sending a message to the French federation that he’d prefer not to go there. That’s maybe my opinion over Galthié’s, but there’s an element of getting them out of their comfort zone.”
Former Ireland and Melbourne Rebels performance analyst Eoin Toolan pointed out that France being pushed so hard by Italy last weekend before the shortened turnaround to Ireland suits this weekend’s host.
“It was far from ideal, especially with back-to-back away games, which is unusual with a six-day turnaround,” said Toolan.
“So I would say staying in Rome and limiting that travel time was important, getting at least one quality training session in this week.”
Ireland have had their injury setbacks this week, with Tadhg Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park and Cian Healy ruled out.
But the French are missing some key players too, with centre Jonathan Danty, left wing Gabin Villière, second row Cameron Woki, and replacement hooker Peato Mauvaka all missing for this visit to Dublin.
“Those first three would probably start against Ireland this weekend if they were fit,” said Dafydd.
“Thibaud Flament went well in the second row last weekend and has impressed massively for a guy that is quite light and almost doesn’t look like a second row. He has got the height but he doesn’t have the width. He’s mobile and has soft hands to go with it.
“Danty is so impressive. He plays for La Rochelle and Ronan O’Gara knows what he’s doing with his recruitment. I was a bit disappointed by Yoram Moefana last weekend, especially defensively. He always makes a metre or two in contact in attack but he didn’t show what he can do in defence.
“Villière is like a wild terrier. He’s a winger but he rarely stays on his flank. He always goes sniffing for the ball at the breakdown. Ethan Dumortier, the Lyon wing who is starting instead of him, isn’t of a similar profile. He has scored 14 tries this season but doesn’t have that attitude at the breakdown.
“Mauvaka is almost the perfect super sub as a hooker, especially if you’re playing fantasy rugby. He works well with Julien Marchand. So those four are quite key losses for France but they’ve got replacements.”
Nonetheless, this is an imposing French team and Toolan provided detailed tactical insight into the ways they could target Ireland, including in the kicking game.
“If you look back at the Italy game, on France’s first lineout maul, they intentionally maul infield from the left-hand-side,” explained Toolan.
“You’ve got Antoine Dupont breaking away back into the shortside with wingers swinging and they’re looking for that kick space. That’s an area where Ireland definitely have a little bit of vulnerability because they put so much emphasis on 13 players in the frontline, two in the backfield.
“That short attacking kick space for Dupont, we saw how good Romain Ntamack was with his kick passes for two tries, so I think they’ll look to exploit that shorter kicking area against Ireland and try to take advantage from that perspective.”
To get access to The42 Rugby Weekly Extra, which comes out every Monday with Gavan Casey, Bernard Jackman, and Murray Kinsella, as well as every Wednesday with Eoin Toolan, become a member of The42 at members.the42.ie
Get instant updates on your province on The42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
