It is a duplicate without being one. We explain. This weekend, the French Championship knows no break even if 28 of the 42 internationals will miss, retained in Nice by the XV coach of France, Fabien Galthié, to prepare France-England (February 2, 16 hours at the Stade de France). But under an agreement recently signed between the French Federation (FFR) and the residents of Top 14, fourteen Blues have been released and are available to their club for the 14th day before returning to Nice on Sunday.
Ransom for success requires, Toulouse or Racing 92 did not have this chance. All their stars, Vakatawa, Palu, Thomas, Leroux and Chat for the Parisians and Baille, Marchand, Cros, Dupont, Ntamack for the Stadistes stayed on the French Riviera. "It's a real double from our point of view because we have no player who can come back (Editor's note: from Nice) , analyzes Ciel-et-Blanc coach Laurent Travers. We are very happy for the players who do not return. They are among the 28 selected and we hope that they will be among the 23 selected to represent French rugby but also Racing 92. "
Behind this consensual speech, there is still a trip to Castres (this Saturday, 6 p.m.) to prepare for the Ile-de-France club and the reception of the Bordeaux leader for the Stade Toulouse (this Sunday, 4:50 p.m.). We are not far from the puzzle. "It's complicated," admits Travers, whose men only came back Monday from their Sunday match in London against the Saracens (27-24). "The announcement of the group of 42 players from the XV of France was a small event which was not necessarily easy to manage", recognizes for his part Clément Poitrenaud, rear coach of the Stade Toulouse.
Uncertainty on the state of form of the freed internationals
But the big cars are used to managing these periods. Racing 92 will line up an experienced Machenaud-Russell hinge which does not really have the appearance of a team B. And Toulouse saw their international Thomas Ramos return prematurely to Haute-Garonne. A welcome reinforcement for the champion of France plucked at the opening with the suspension of the Australian Zack Holmes. "Last season was a period that had worked well for us," notes Poitrenaud. We even really started our season at that time, chaining the victories. Those who had stayed in the club had done more than the job, and some had even revealed themselves. "
The former international (47 selections) still notes that the situation this year is not necessarily "identical". Because the uncertainty remains on the state of form of the internationals freed over the weekend and their state of mind. The workloads with the Blues staff apparently marked the organizations. "They performed in Nice the equivalent of a week of training in three days," says Clément Poitrenaud. We had to spare them. The Stade Français which wants to get out of the red zone definitively and faces a cascade of injuries (Delbouis, De Giovanni, Coville) has little choice. The Parisian club recovers Kylan Hamdaoui and Lester Etien released by the Blues and establishes them immediately for his trip to Clermont (Saturday, 8:45 pm).