That's it, the XV of France will return to the field and the sweet scent of competition.
Three and a half months after the brutal end of their World Cup, against South Africa in the quarter-finals, Fabien Galthié's Blues face Ireland this Friday (9 p.m.) in Marseille, opening the Tournament of Six Nations.
Without Antoine Dupont, preserved to prepare for the Olympics in rugby 7s, it was Grégory Alldritt who led as captain the last training this Thursday at the Vélodrome stadium, before presenting himself at a press conference.
What does it feel like to be the captain of the XV of France for the start of the Tournament?
GREGORY ALLDRITT.
It’s a lot of pride, a lot of honor.
For the moment it's very easy, we're in line with what we've been doing for 4 years, we have a great group, and I can't wait to be on the field.
It will be at the Vélodrome stadium, what is special about this stadium?
It's very noisy, you can feel the energy coming off it.
I hope the public will be behind us because we will have them.
We have a lot of good memories there, it's a stadium that we love, with a lot of support from the stands.
We love the Stade de France, but the Vélodrome has something special, different from the other stadiums.
I don't copy anyone
You start against Ireland.
Is it already a final?
The beauty of this competition is that every weekend is very tough.
It's too early to say that, all the matches are very important in the Tournament, one year we lost it because we didn't take a bonus point against Italy.
You have to be consistent every weekend, go “step by step”, and the first shock in particular will be very hard.
What are the Irish's strong points?
We remember the previous matches against them, notably the last one (defeat in Dublin 32-19, Editor's note), where there were more than 45 minutes of effective play.
Physically you will have to be at your best.
But we worked hard, we regenerated well.
Physically we will be there.
We'll have to because opposite there's a big pack.
They are hyper-precise in conquest, they don't have 150 kg weights, but they are meticulous, repeated.
They have one of the best third lines in the world.
It's going to be a great challenge, but we French like to take on challenges too.
It is said that you will be an Anglo-Saxon captain, trained in La Rochelle by the Irishman Ronan O'Gara.
What do you think ?
I'm not an Anglo-Saxon or French captain, let's say I do a little mix.
I rubbed shoulders with great foreign and French players.
I take inspiration from it and I put it in my own way, I don't copy anyone.
Of course, I have British origins, that can help when talking to the referee.
I also played a lot of European Cup matches, which allowed me to meet a lot of referees that we see at international level.
I continue on my way, I let the observers judge, I do it my way.