The last time they crossed the gate, it was the other way around, hastily exfiltrated in individual taxis, far from this fortress where the virus had won its hide-and-seek with them.
It was a black Friday in Marcoussis, in Essonne.
This February 26, the Blues, head down, looked grim, forced to give up, after two successes in Italy (50-10) and Ireland (15-13), their third lift on the road to the Grand Slam against the Scotland at the Stade de France, two days later.
The match, probably postponed to March 26, will be their final meeting of the Six Nations Tournament.
But before, the XV of France will meet the Welsh in Saint-Denis, on March 20, but above all, the English in Twickenham, on Saturday March 13.
The Crunch… A challenge they are all waiting for and which does not give them time to think about it.
The Tricolores have thus chased or masked at least their bad thoughts when returning, Sunday, to lands washed of any English variant.
"Avoid resentment resurfacing"
“They are looking forward to this match, that's all that matters now,” explains a close relative of the players.
They arrived with a good frame of mind.
And if they win, everything will be fine.
But it's always the same, we must not lose if we want to avoid resentment resurfacing.
"
Resentments have indeed arisen.
There was everything for that: an incredible story, badly put together, lies, shifty looks, a bit of manipulation too.
The pierced bubble revealed the hidden face of this XV of France carried to the pinnacle.
The escapades of Fabien Galthié, the coach however uncompromising on codes of conduct… The anger of the President of the French Federation, Bernard Laporte, who came to his aid… The lures hurriedly swung by the vice-president, Serge Simon, appointed Mr. Covid … Doctors clearing all these beautiful people by signifying that the sanitary protocol has been respected and finding as dry a zero patient designated in advance: a player from the France team at 7. Ministers in a hurry to close the file for talk about something else ...
"The guys weren't distracted"
Everything is behind the Blues now.
"It was obviously disturbing, but we cannot use it as an excuse," said Shaun Edwards, Galthié's deputy in charge of defense, in the English daily Telegraph.
There will be no hangover over that in our camp.
I firmly believe in the benefits of the routine
(Editor's note: in training)
and that is what we will be doing at the start of the week.
The guys weren't distracted by the events.
Defeats, injuries, criticisms must be put in the closet.
"
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The staff started by talking to their flock.
Calmly, but firmly.
This Monday was mainly devoted to recovery, because 18 of the 31 players called this week evolved in Top 14, Saturday.
What will be the condition of the troops in England?
The last match of the Blues dates back to February 14 in Ireland, twelve of them were affected by Covid-19, and most of the others, contact cases, also remained in isolation for a week.
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"It is as if they had had a few days of rest, it does not hurt, on the contrary, because they were perfectly prepared, indicates a doctor of the Top 14. They are followed, everything is analyzed.
There will be no problem.
Physically, they will be ready.
The only thing is that their last game together was a month ago.
It's a long way.
This was before the entry into Marcoussis of a virus which we do not yet know exactly what traces it will leave on the blue tunic.
