Six Nations: ‘Master’ Ireland exposes deeper problems, warns France

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Fabien Galthie didn’t want to talk about it. As the French manager rolled into the press conference room at the Stade Vélodrome, his eyes flashing evasively under his familiar thick-rimmed glasses, Garthie asked the question he knew was coming. I prepared for it.

“This is not the time for reflection,” Galthie insisted after the heaviest defeat of his time as manager, a 38-17 defeat to Ireland to open the Six Nations. “There are too many disappointing points to make the analysis clear. There is too much to review and share.”

The weather was bad in France on Friday night even before Paul Willemse’s sending off. The weight of the occasion and the energy of the Marseille crowd seemed to debilitate rather than energize the home team, the cauldron bubbling but never boiling over, with Les Bleus providing plenty of heat. That never happened.

While Ireland were smart and confident in themselves, France were bad at kicking and their defense was lax. A few key players, perhaps most notably Jonathan Danti and Gaël Fickou, looked a bit underwhelming. France’s lineout capitulated, struggling to adjust at the breakdown and allowing Ireland the lively ball they are best at. Both managers downplayed the idea that this was an attempt at a World Cup bounce back, but while Ireland looked effectively scratched, France’s stumbling could be a lingering headache. suggested.

It’s tempting to overreact. It didn’t take long for the French press to suggest that this was a show reminiscent of the dark past before Galthie’s arrival, full of crazy moments that came to symbolize an entire era of French rugby. did. But this is just the first match in a long championship, a matchup between two of Europe’s most accomplished teams. It’s worth remembering that Ireland are a phenomenal team who fought well for the majority of the game.

“We have been preparing precisely and intensively for the past two weeks, imagining scenarios,” Galthie later suggested. “But this scenario is part of this sport. Ireland played of The game was played with 14 players.

“The script didn’t allow us to go where we wanted to go. There was no offensive performance. We were dominating the clash and preparing to increase our speed to increase the intensity. Ireland are masters in this matter and playing with 14 players didn’t help us either. We need to up our game.”

However, it would be foolish to completely dismiss this result as some kind of anomaly. The defeat followed South Africa’s disappointing World Cup result, although it was a close loss in the quarter-finals. Galthie is perhaps lucky not to have come under more scrutiny, with many in France choosing to stick pins in Ben O’Keeffe’s voodoo doll rather than looking for limiting factors other than refereeing. Dew.

However, that doesn’t mean the head coaching position is completely secure. The Home World Cup was the culmination of four years of an unprecedented collaborative approach by all involved in French rugby, with the top 14 clubs uniting behind the national team in pursuit of a common goal. Galthie was given special access to a large group of players in each campaign, allowing him to build cohesion. Although that is no longer the case, the team also had to endure the club’s tough schedule since returning from the World Cup.

Perhaps this explains why there was a lack of French traffic in Marseille on Friday night. The theory was that France, having lost only a few numbers after the World Cup, would be in a good position to continue on track for the next four years. Antoine Dupont’s absence will be significant, and the best scrum-half in the history of the game will be impossible to replace, but this is not a French team in transition. The apparent lack of leadership on the pitch was shocking for a team no longer in its developmental stages.

This puts France in an interesting position. Galthie was criticized for not doing much media activity after the World Cup, but new manager Florian Grill, who was elected president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) in June last year, made shocking comments. France was thought to be financially comfortable thanks to its home tournament and top-14 financial heavyweights.

Not so, explained Mr. Grill. L’Equipe In December, it was revealed that it had suffered an operating deficit of around €40m (about £34m) over the past two years. The figure for 2023/24 could reach €24m (£20.5m), with the situation made worse by the Stade de France’s unavailability.

This put FFR into cost-cutting mode. Reportedly, international charter flights will be discontinued and luxury hotels will be withdrawn. While France have ventured into the sunny south to train for the Six Nations in recent years, the national team was based at the Marcosys facility on the outskirts of Paris ahead of the tournament. The training base is impressive, but its age probably extends to the performance in France.

There is now a good chance that France will continue to compete in this Six Nations. Galthie suggested minimal changes will be needed for next week’s trip to Murrayfield, with the team theoretically better suited for this scarring experience.

But it’s incredible how quickly the story shakes out. After four years of world-leading efforts to build quality and quantity on and off the pitch, the complex French rugby ecosystem now looks fragile once again. Could Garthie’s Ancien Régime still end with the fall of the guillotine? It’s too early for such talk, but French rugby once again has important questions to answer.