The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Six Nations Tournament: England-France, crossed destinies

2021-03-12T07:13:25.139Z


The Blues, in full progress until the passage of the Covid-19 in Marcoussis two weeks ago, challenge this Saturday at Twickenham of the English


The temple will not be a justice of the peace this time around, but rather a crossing point at a crossroads.

Twickenham stadium, emptied of all the souls that usually come to populate its stands, is preparing to host a special Crunch this Saturday (5:45 p.m.).

Who will emerge victorious?

The white ogre or the blue roosters?

“I would not bet my house on this match, laughs Richard Pool-Jones, former third line of the XV de la Rose.

It's a mystery.

Any scenario is imaginable but if I were forced to bet I would just say there should be few points spread.

"

Some, like the others, are in fact sorely lacking in benchmarks today.

The English have not stopped falling since their peak reached a year and a half ago, on October 26, during their demonstration in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup against the All Blacks (19-7).

Digesting the Covid-19 episode

The Tricolores, them, have soared for a little over a year and their handling by Fabien Galthié.

The Grand Slam seemed promised to them this season, after two successes in Italy (50-10) and Ireland (15-13), before the Covid-19 English variant version took advantage of some largesse in their way of conceiving the health protocol , to invite themselves in the middle of their fortress of Marcoussis in Essonne.

VIDEO.

XV of France: "Zero risk does not exist", defends Galthié

Result: players on the floor, isolated, twelve of them positive, a France-Scotland postponed, a month without meeting the Tournament, and a short week of training together ... If we add to this table a suspected coach of escapades taking refuge behind an internal investigation carried out in haste, we get a nice thick fog as we like in the streets of London.

"If we find the Blues as before the Covid, there should not be a problem, underlines Abdelatif Benazzi, the former captain of the XV of France.

But you have to see how the players spent this period.

"

READ ALSO>

Sanitary bubble, rooming, rough management ... Fabien Galthié, the man who tenses up French rugby


Their express rise in power for thirteen months, despite the confinement last season, their nine successes in 11 games, the development of a new generation full of talents, could they be called into question by the passage of the virus?

The Habs were advancing with such confidence that a first success at Twickenham since August 22, 2007 (21-15) stretched out their arms ... Especially since England experienced free fall.

Vice-world champions in 2019, Eddie Jones' players won without convincing the 2020 Tournament, then the Fall Nations Cup which followed in a final snatched on the wire, in overtime, to a XV of France bis (22-19).

Annus horribilis in 2021?

It's gone, with two defeats in three games including one at home against Scotland (11-6) and a slap in Wales (40-24).

"I believe that the final lost against South Africa (

Editor's note: 32-12

), the way they were thrown like filths while they were the admiration of everyone, was a turning point for the English, explains Richard Pool-Jones.

I am not sure that this disappointment is over yet.

Something probably broke that day.

Eddie Jones has lost his aura and his magic.

"

Morning essentials newsletter

A tour of the news to start the day

Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters

The Australian coach of the XV de la Rose also made the bet to renew the same team for the next World Cup in France in 2023. “The players are not old but they do not seem united, adds Pool-Jones.

Those who play with the Saracens, relegated to the second division, lack high level competition.

Opener Owen Farrell, for example, falls short of his standard.

"To the Blues to take advantage of it, if they have recovered, before, the ideas in place.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-03-12

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.