The French media’s post-mortem after France’s record-breaking defeat to Ireland in Marseille had players and coaches firmly in their sights, and it was undoubtedly none other than head coach Fabien Galtier.
Arnaud Bourdry of Midi Olympique wrote under the heading “Galtier, a strong imprint on the spanking inflicted on the Blues”: Sometimes it is inexhaustible, sometimes it is immeasurable. He has mastered the art of press conference oratory and enjoys getting his message across. On Friday night, the Blues coach made a rare appearance as an unresponsive coach deep inside the Velodrome Stadium, where a fire was extinguished in an attack by an Irishman.
“Stunned. Shocked. I decided it was too early to start a strategic analysis to explain what was his worst defeat to date.”
In an interview with Sud Ouest, former France international Olivier Magne dismissed Galtier’s claims that Paul Willems’ sending off had a major impact on the result. “They could have played with 18 (players) and still not won against this Irish team with the ability that the French team provided.”
Magne, along with former international scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elizaldo, paid tribute to the way the Irish coaching team prepared and the way the players executed their plans.
Le Figaro’s Arnaud Coudri questioned the influence of the new faces in the French coaching team: Patrick Arlettas (attack), Laurent Sempere (forwards) and Nicolas Jeanjean (strength and conditioning). He wrote: “There were three sectors that suffered heavily in Friday’s game against Ireland.”
He cited the mission statement of the three coaches upon their arrival and highlighted the achievements the French team has produced in Marseille. His verdict was damning, especially when it came to attacks. Coudry writes: “At the velodrome, we watched carefully, but we couldn’t see what he was doing.” [Arlettaz] I was able to implement it.
“Rugby table tennis, an empty midfield and the tricolor machines were all but at a standstill,” added French national team head coach Fabien Galtier. “The offensive performance wasn’t there. Too much waste, too many turnovers, too many dropped balls. Less speed than usual. We didn’t prepare accordingly.”
Antoine Dupont’s decision to skip the Six Nations Championship in order to claim a spot in the French Sevens squad for the Paris Olympics has been understandably lamented, and his excellent performance in the Top 14 clash between Toulouse and Bayonne at the weekend It reminded France of what it was missing.
After the match, the scrum-half was asked for his thoughts on Friday night’s loss to Ireland in Marseille. He replied: “My reaction is the same as everyone else. It was hard to see the French team in trouble. Being behind at international level makes us realize how difficult it is. I know. The Irish were very well prepared, but I think the steps were too high. There are too many obstacles in our way.”
[ Ireland’s brilliant performance against France epitomised by bold and brave Jack Crowley ]
His replacement, Bordeaux’s Maxime Luk, faced intense criticism, but it is probably best to avoid L’Equipe’s notoriously unforgiving player ratings at the best of times. The scrum half was given a score of 3/10, and his summary read as follows: “It would be remiss to compare him to Dupont in a game where the team was dominated by the Irish. But he made bad choices and small mistakes. It directly led to us scoring points.”
Ruku’s halfback partner and Bordeaux teammate, Mathieu Jalibert, also received similar markings under the wilting “His Play”. [Jalibert’s] His judgment was poor and his playmaking role lacked accuracy. His defense was poor and he missed four tackles. ”
Olivier François, writing in Le Parisien with the headline “You’ll need to see a psychiatrist: why the slap that King XV of France received leaves its mark”, writes that after the defeat against Ireland, I decided to dig deeper into the psychological trauma that this would cause. Rugby World Cup legacy issues and the difficulty of moving forward.
[ ‘Big Young Joe’ McCarthy has Six Nations debut he will never forget ]
The French players were happy to acknowledge Ireland’s excellent performance on the night, with full-back Thomas Ramos saying: It’s not easy to tell right away what went wrong. Against a great Ireland team, we conceded tries too easily and exposed ourselves too easily. It’s a shame because we had prepared well for the match. ”
Center Gael Fickou admitted: “The Irish surpassed us in every area. They deserved the victory, there’s nothing to say.”