Scandal of the XV of France: sanitary bubbles that do not explode, it exists

We must resolve to it.

The health bubble has become, Covid-19 obliges, an essential component of sports players.

In order for international competitions to take place as normally as possible around the world, selections or groups of athletes are subject to strict health protocols.

"This is the price to pay if we want to continue to practice our disciplines" summarizes Philippe Bana, the president of the French handball federation.

The slightest violation of these binding specifications can have consequences for the holding of events, as the sad example of the tricolor XV proves.

Guilty of leaving the Marcoussis base camp, coach Fabien Galthié pierced the bubble, no doubt contaminated part of his squad and caused the postponement of the match against Scotland during the Six Nations Tournament.

Other selections were also subjected to these same strict measures… with more success.

Present in Podgorica, capital of Montenegro, from February 15 to 23, on the occasion of two qualifying matches for Euro 2022, the Basketball Blues were notably instructed not to leave their hotel, or even the assigned floor .

"We were warned from the start that an exit was synonymous with exclusion and an immediate return to France," said winger Maxime Roos.

We had been sent the sanitary protocol to be observed before departure and, in the hotel, there were posters everywhere to remind us.

It was very square.

Their only outings outside were to get on the bus to train or play.

"There were no positive cases"

Each of the four selections present had its own coach and a reserved floor in the hotel.

For France, it was the third.

A hermetic level, forbidden even to cleaning ladies.

Safety cords were pulled to delimit areas and limit contact.

“There were five elevators, three were for crews and two for other customers,” says Roos.

We all had individual rooms, and as soon as we got out of them, we put on the mask.

"

The delegation, which underwent a battery of PCR and blood tests before departure and on site, was limited to 25 people.

The president of the Federation, Jean-Pierre Siutat, was therefore unable to visit Montenegro.

The technical staff had favored the presence of two physiotherapists and an osteoarthritis to the detriment of the physical trainer.

“Sometimes we would go out five minutes before departure time to breathe the air and sunbathe before getting on the bus,” smiles Nicolas Barth, one of the two physiotherapists.

The days were sometimes long, but it wasn't jail either.

We were there above all to play two games and qualify.

"There haven't been any positive cases," Roos says.

With hindsight, we say to ourselves that we have done well.

"

"Whoever broke the bubble was excluded, definitively"

For handball players, the bubble will have lasted more than a month.

The internationals, who arrived at their base in Créteil on December 27, did not leave the selection until January 31, the evening of the small final of the World Championship in Egypt.

During these 38 days, the Blues remained between them, without interaction with the outside world, except to join the room for the matches.

Apart from the Pyramids, visible from their hotel room, the handball players saw nothing of Egypt.

"The roads to go to the theaters were marked," indicates the president of the federation Philippe Bana.

For the Euro in Denmark, a month earlier, the girls also remained in a bubble for 30 days and the rules were even stricter.

They were locked in the hotel.

Whoever broke the bubble was out, definitely.

“The Blues will find this strict framework from next week with the Olympic qualifying tournament in Montpellier.

Paris-Nice on the same model as the Tour de France

It is difficult to compare tennis with these team sports.

Health constraints change with the tournaments and the pandemic.

In the fall during Roland-Garros and the Masters 1000 at Bercy (the first played with a capacity of 1000 spectators, the second behind closed doors), the players were accommodated in hotels where certain areas had been requisitioned and should not move away from the room-stadium path.

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All had to have tested negative before they could withdraw their accreditation and then submitted to samples every five days during the competition.

Since then, the best worlds have been confronted with another universe, much more severe, with the Australian system for the first Grand Slam of the season: a strict fortnight with five hours of supervised outing per day before regaining relative freedom of movement.

Since the summer, world cycling has gotten used to living in a bubble. The first major event of the season, Paris-Nice (March 7-14) will take place on the same model as the Tour de France: the riders and the direct supervision of all the teams will be placed in a race bubble in which the public and media will not be able to penetrate. No interaction will be possible with runners in hotels that they cannot leave. Autographs and selfies prohibited and if, as on the Tour, two members of a team test positive, head for the door.