Work in a hurry.
And therefore privilege the automatisms.
The Blues, deprived of their best elements under the agreement signed between the FFR and the LNR, will have had only a very short week - and one high intensity training - to prepare for the third match of the Coupe d fall of nations against Italy, Saturday (9:10 p.m.) at the Stade de France.
Hence the obligation, to lead the game of the XV of France in the absence of Toulouse Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, to establish the hinge Baptiste Serin (26 years, 36 selections) and Matthieu Jalibert (22 years, 6 select. ).
The usual liners will therefore finally play the leading roles.
However, this duo is not going into the unknown against the Nazionale.
The two halfbacks have indeed played together at Union Bordeaux-Bègles between 2017 and 2019, before Serin's departure for RC Toulon.
Reenactment of dissolved league.
“These are strategic, important positions.
We care about these connections, this exchange when they play or have played in the same club, confirms Laurent Labit, the assistant coach in charge of three-quarters.
It will be better for the conduct of the game, because we have a lot of young players, inexperienced players.
So, obviously, having these two players who know each other by heart, we hope that this will bring us fluidity and security in what we want to do. "
And to add: "They know each other, it's like when you associate Antoine with Romain ..."
“
I'm not at all worried.
Despite his young age, Baptiste knows how to unite, supervise, transmit
”
Patrice Collazo, RCT manager
Serin and Jalibert will therefore play big on Saturday.
The first will, in addition, captain of the Blues, in relay of Charles Ollivon who played his three autumn matches.
“He's been very involved since the start of the week.
And, it bears its name well, it is serene, jokes the coach Fabien Galthié.
He wants to be at the head of this team and to lead by example.
He has an experience, a lived experience with the group that has passed away.
He is a relay, he transmits all his knowledge to this new group with pleasure and a lot of energy. "
For the French coach, “Baptiste has already shown that he is capable of adapting to the most complex situations and that he knows how to manage them.
The finishers (
name given to the replacements, Editor's note)
have a complicated mission, but those who start too.
There is no easy posture in this environment where we are constantly pushing our limits.
That Baptiste knows.
And he's ready. ”
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Eleven novices, a Bordeaux hinge, a pack with 13 selections: focus on the composition of the XV of France
His manager at RCT thinks so too.
“I hope the charge will not be a handicap for him.
I think it will rather boost it.
Baptiste, already, is a leader of the game. Even if he is a young player, he still has about forty selections, underlines Patrice Collazo.
It is not a new role for him what he has to do in the France team this week and Saturday night, even if it remains the national team.
These are things he has known in the club.
I am not at all worried.
Baptiste knows how to unite, supervise, transmit, accompany, despite his young age.
And it's a great recognition, a great promotion for him.
This highlights his qualities as a natural leader. ”
Laurent Labit confirms this.
“Baptiste carries weight on the players and in the squad with what he brings on and off the pitch.
He is an important person.
He is the captain of this team but he must also be assisted by other players ”.
According to him, the weight of the captaincy “does not seem to have disturbed him”: “It did not change much in his attitude and his functioning.
I don't think it put more pressure on him for Saturday's game than that. ”
"
By playing against Scotland, Matthieu Jalibert freed himself from all the pressure he had on his shoulders
"
Laurent Labit, assistant coach of the XV of France
For his part, Matthieu Jalibert will continue, for the first time in his international career, a second tenure in a row.
With the desire to prove - once again - that he can be a credible alternative to Romain Ntamack, number 1 in the hierarchy of 10 and particularly brilliant during his last outings.
“Matthieu has lived with the group since early 2020. He has accumulated a lot of time spent (
with this team
), which counts in the personal and collective experience.
It will continue to develop and gain confidence, ”insists Fabien Galthié.
Saturday, at the Stade de France, the opener of the UBB will also be the scorer of the France team, a role devolved to the back Thomas Ramos against Scotland.
A surplus of responsibility which does not worry the French staff.
“Matthew, we know his qualities.
He had a game last week to get into the squad.
He freed himself from all the pressure he had on his shoulders.
We have no worries about what he can do in the field and about his potential, ”confirms Laurent Labit.
Within an experimental and inexperienced XV of France, Jalibert will have to behave as a leader.
Well supported, in this role, by his former accomplice at UBB.
Read also
Galthié: "Building a collective experience"
