XV of France: Galthié begins a showdown with the clubs

Words that risk causing talk within the Top 14 clubs. In an interview in Sud-Ouest on Wednesday, Fabien Galthié banged his fist on the table. Without any procrastination. The main subject is the use of internationals during the next international window scheduled for next fall. Unsurprisingly, the boss of the XV of France, on the eve of the officialization of the international calendar by World Rugby, went in the direction of the FFR. Namely playing six matches, with the ambition of concluding the Six Nations Tournament with a success in front of Ireland on October 31st.

“The less the France team will make turnovers, the more efficient the France team will be. We "capped" 29 players over four matches. The word "turn" does not suit the national team "

“We stopped the Six Nations tournament after four days. We did not tour Argentina, that is to say three weeks of training and two tests. We will not hold a rally in August when it was planned in the convention. World Rugby offers us six matches to play. That would take us to a total of ten matches. This is what was planned on the roadmap for the France team, ”he said with his usual outspokenness. The XV of France must play six matches during the fall, which makes as many duplicates in an upcoming calendar where the lack of available dates is glaring. On this point, the clubs and the League do not intend to “lose” their players for so long, while the Top 14 must resume on September 4 and 5.

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Faced with this start of a showdown between the selection and the clubs, the FFR had proposed that out of the six matches of the Blues, no international should be used more than five times. An unthinkable solution for the coach, who did not hesitate to tell our colleagues on Wednesday. “The less the France team will make turnovers, the more efficient the France team will be. We "capped" 29 players over four matches. The word "turn" does not fit the national team. […] The more you play together, the more you progress. It is a conviction that I do not want to question. Having emulation in training, being able to develop two or three profiles in the same position is very important, but selection has a value. We do not give it to the one who is number 3, number 4 at the station because it is necessary to rotate. When we take a player, he is number 1 at the post at time T. " A message that will not calm the debate between the different parties. World Rugby is due to announce on Thursday the establishment of the upcoming international calendar.

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