England is not a statue to be torn down for once.
It is another demon that the Blues come to hunt in the sacred temple of Twickenham, this Saturday (5:45 p.m.).
An inner demon that has crept under their skulls in the wake of a virus.
No need to tell stories indeed: without the episode of the English variant infiltrated under their pierced armor, this Crunch would appear like a feast to be enjoyed.
Big white marshmallows, very soft, without imagination, would offer themselves to the appetite of a hungry, carefree, irresistible blue color.
But, here, as in many other areas of society, the Covid-19 has suspended breaths and aspirations.
He reset the counters to zero.
The Tricolores crossed the Channel to save their skin.
The stake is there.
How to keep intact the scintillating picture drawn for more than a year?
How to prolong the melody of rediscovered happiness that accompanies them?
After so many seasons of food shortages, routs, fiascos, after so many years of spite and sadness, the Blues have awakened hearts, enlightened faces, intoxicated minds.
It suffices to listen to their audience, their supporters, who have become absolute fans again, ready to defend them, even in their wanderings.
It is enough to see the interest which they arouse again in all the spheres which they cross.
In these gloomy, uncertain times, where the slightest pleasure can be enjoyed in the moment, their acts of bravery do too good to imagine doing without.
Even the figures salute them: nine successes in eleven games since their Big Bang, the start of the Galthié era in January 2020, two victories to start this new Tournament in Italy (50-10) and Ireland (15-13). ), a Grand Slam on the horizon, expected for eleven years.
And, then, these feats of Dupont, Alldritt, Dulin or Marchand… Worried.
Unclassifiable.
So, when the bubble burst, a little over three weeks ago in Marcoussis, around their citadel of Essonne, too easily offered to the virus, we did not immediately perceive the danger.
Forget to move on
It came very quickly, reinforced by attitudes and behaviors that had little to do with the rhetoric all the time.
We will pass on the spectacle given by the authorities and their leaders, which could have been very funny if it had not been for the health of the men and their families.
We can overlook everything, in fact, except perhaps this strange feeling that the chords are far from perfect within this orchestra which plays mostly in mute and sees its conductor discard in front of him.
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“All our actions were in compliance with the health protocol, asserted Fabien Galthié.
I don't blame myself in this episode.
Everything was done in accordance with the rules.
“His players know his escapades out of the bubble.
They say nothing, muzzled by increasingly stifling communication.
Beautiful words have turned into false notes.
A general who hides or does not take responsibility rarely deceives his troops, especially when he asks them to go into the fire.
This is what the Blues must forget to continue to advance.
That's what they came to look for in England.
Only victory can hide the flaws.
Defeat always reveals them, sooner or later.
