Jonathan Danty is in
La Rochelle to attend the birth of his son
.
Will he be present with the France team on Saturday evening in Marseille against South Africa?
Laurent Labit:
It is the coach who will decide.
We let ''Jo'' go to his wife for a very important event in a man's life.
''Jo'' is very experienced.
He is used to playing these matches with us.
We will give him the necessary time to join us and face South Africa with us on Saturday.
Even if he misses both high intensity workouts?
It's manageable.
In our operation, we have been preparing the matches against Australia and South Africa for two weeks.
It is not two failed training sessions that will cause him to be lost on the field.
Especially since he has the profile that corresponds to the opponent who awaits us on Saturday.
But the decision belongs to Fabien Galthié.
Read alsoXV of France: Jonathan Danty the only absent from the training of the Blues
Have you had the temptation to modify your starting XV?
For some time now, we have not been fans of high turnover.
We are quite faithful in our choices.
We will remain.
We want to cap our players, that they acquire a collective maturity.
And Saturday is a great meeting to gain experience in view of what awaits us on September 8, 2023 (
the opening match of the World Cup against the All Blacks
, editor's
note
).
In a Vélodrome stadium which will be a cauldron, we hope that the players will not be carried away by the atmosphere.
That they will stay in what we decided to do: be able to fight and play, and not stay only in the fight.
Damian Penaud is a special guy
Laurent Labit
The Dupont-Ntamack hinge was however inside against Australia…
Like our team.
We knew we would have connection problems.
Antoine and Romain had not played together for six weeks.
And we for seven months.
So that didn't surprise us.
But I'm sure that the hinge like the team will be much better on Saturday against South Africa, because we have resumed play between us.
We still need a first match to restart the competition.
Damian Penaud has pulled off some classy action for you to win.
He's a special guy.
We have the impression that he is on the sidelines, that he is not interested in things, that he is not a great competitor.
But when there is a match, there is a match!
But it still surprises us.
He is one of the best players in the world and he still manages to make the difference.
This is where you see the great players.
Even when we expect them, they are able to make a difference.
How important is this first and only clash against South Africa in the interval between the 2019 World Cup and that of 2023?
This match already counts because they are the world champions.
The best, those who have the title, they are them.
Then, we must continue to build and grow.
And South Africa presents a team profile that we have not yet faced.
Finally, in view of the World Cup, it is possible that we meet them in the quarter-finals… So many elements that make this match is indeed very important.
Statements taken at a press conference
