Three days after the rout of the French XV in Marseille against Ireland (17-38), we were expecting a first speech from the Blues staff.
Fabien Galthié spoke of a "tough moment to live through", hotly after the match, referring the explanations to the gathering of French players at the start of the week in Marcoussis.
This Monday, it was William Servat, co-coach of a French conquest which foundered, who stuck to it, at a press conference in Marcoussis.
How are you approaching this week after the defeat at the Vélodrome?
WILLIAM SERVAT.
Of course we missed out against Ireland.
We came away from this match with a lot of resentment and bitterness.
We analyzed the reasons for this failure, and I think we also found the keys to bounce back very quickly.
Now we move on to preparing for this meeting in Scotland.
We will try to have the best possible week, with a lot of desire and intensity in the preparation.
We leave without negative pressure.
We didn't expect such a rout...
Honestly, me neither.
We had prepared very well for this match but the reality is that we missed out.
We were not mistaken about the strategy, but about the implementation of this strategy: we did not implement what we wanted to do.
What disturbed us a little, it's not at all an excuse, it's also that we are on a new mandate, with new staff, and that we got this card which comes very early, for a player (Paul Willemse) who had an important role.
It was also a mistake on our part in the conduct of training last week.
This is something we will be more particular about this week.
What was missing in the preparation?
We went into a lot of detail, to improve different game cells as much as possible, but in the end a little less on the general level.
There was a little confusion, we know where to go to change all that.
The cardboard disrupted the structure, we should have anticipated this.
“I don’t think the Irish forwards really dominated the French forwards”
You were clearly dominated in the rucks and on the touchlines, why?
It is obvious, for example, that we only had 70% of our balls released quickly in the rucks, whereas usually we are more at 80-85%.
This is the consequence of all this.
Despite everything, I don't think the Irish forwards really dominated the French forwards.
We had 4 phases of forward play in their 22m and each time we scored or got a penalty.
But we failed to impose our game.
And in touch?
In 2020 during our first match against England at the start of the term, we also had a bit of waste.
This seems logical to me while players digest a new announcement system.
To this new system, when you add the loss of a player, it is normal that it is disruptive.
In this organization, with these difficulties, we lose 4 balls out of 18 touches.
Has the failure of the World Cup still left its mark?
As much as we are going to approach the match against Scotland with the stigma of Ireland, we have not prepared Ireland with any stigma of South Africa.
The Tournament has nothing to do with the World Cup.
The players and staff are used to going from one competition to another, they do it at club level.
It wasn't the same match.
Talking about Ireland by referring to South Africa is a mistake.
Some wonder why Antoine Dupont did not play while he was with his club…
Wondering if Antoine could be of added value for the team he plays with, the answer is in the question... Antoine made the unified choice to set out on another objective with the Olympics, it's a formidable challenge. him.
With the FFR and its club everything was organized.
We knew he wouldn't be with us, we're not going to rehash that Antoine is a very good player, we know that.
One day he will reapply but today he is not applying.
Also read: Six Nations Tournament: “Fabien Galthié is not threatened... at least in the short term”
Will there be any changes for Scotland?
You should always expect small adjustments.
But the principle of selection is also trust.
When you like players, you have to be honest with them.
Miss it, it can happen.
Things have been said, this does not mean that trust is broken.
Don't expect huge changes.