After a car crash start to the Six Nations, is end of France’s golden age nigh?
FRANCE are in major trouble. Matthieu Jalibert is likely to miss the rest of the Six Nations, Jonathan Danty definitely will after his ban, Romain Ntamack is still absent and Antoine Dupont is otherwise engaged in Tinseltown.
While the exiled captain is preparing for the Los Angeles edition of the Sevens circuit, ahead of this summer’s Olympics, the national team he left behind are unravelling at a shocking rate.
Their 13-13 draw against Italy in Lille on Sunday — following the opening-night surrender against Ireland in Marseille and a let-off against Scotland at Murrayfield — was further evidence that all is not well. At all.
Again and again, France’s players are being quizzed on whether they are still stalked by the trauma of a one-point defeat by South Africa in the quarter-finals of their home World Cup. They repeatedly insist that they have reviewed it, parked it and moved on, but they appear weighed down by baggage.
That is just one of many issues afflicting Les Bleus. Jalibert’s knee injury will deprive them of another key figure and they are already without others such as Dupont, Ntamack, lock Thibaud Flament and wing Louis BielleBiarrey. There has also been staff upheaval, with newcomers being integrated such as attack coach Patrick Arlettaz, forwards coach Laurent Sempere and head of strength and conditioning, Nicolas Jeanjean.
In the aftermath of France’s defeat at the hands of a rampant Irish side on February 2, Jeanjean acknowledged his surprise at the fitness gulf between the teams. This added to concerns held by many about the condition of French players who were soon back in Top 14 league mode after their World Cup exit.
Further below the surface, there is more to this decline than meets the eye. There has been a notable shift in the funding and support for the France team. From 2019-2023, head coach Fabien Galthie was given ample time to work with a large squad, but many Top 14 clubs feel they didn’t enjoy a return on that backing.
After a period of relative unity, there are signs of renewed clubcountry tension and Galthie has been forced to accept a reduction in squad size from 42 to 34. After clubs across the Channel committed fully to the 2023 project which ended at the last-eight stage, some coaches in the league are bemoaning the absence of players who don’t appear in France’s matchday squads.
Financially, the French federation (FFR), under the command of Bernard Laporte, spent heavily on the 2023 mission, but the budget has been tightened. Since Laporte left his post as president, while being investigated for corruption, there have been accusations that his regime had spent beyond the FFR’s means.
Following the World Cup exit, which left the host nation desolate, new FFR president Florian Grill said: ‘I’m not bothered by the fact that we’re registering a €16million deficit in 2022-23 and that the 2023-24 deficit will be around €20m.’ Yet, the FFR don’t own a stadium, which prevents them generating substantial revenue as their English counterparts at the RFU are able to do.
In addition, there is uncertainty about the use of the Stade de France in Paris after this year due to a potential change of operating arrangements.
It is state-owned, but run by two companies, Vinci and Bouygues, and that deal expires in June next year. Once it is known what happens next, the FFR will have to renegotiate a deal to use the stadium.
Meanwhile, France’s let-down result against Italy has provoked a fierce backlash. The main headline in sports newspaper L’Equipe was Perdus (lost), with a picture of weary, dejected French players after the final whistle in Lille. The player ratings were savage; Danty received 2/10, Jalibert 3/10 after his premature departure and five home players only received a 4/10.
At the same time, Dupont is having a Pied Piper impact in Sevens, with heightened interest in the abbreviated format and huge coverage of his first tournament last weekend, in Vancouver. His involvement could pay off at the Olympics, but it has jarred while the Test team are struggling.
Interest levels remain good. The France-Italy match attracted nearly six million TV viewers and a 42 per cent audience share expansion, along with a capacity crowd in a northern city which is not known as a traditional hot-bed of the sport. But it all became very quiet as the home team lost their way.
Gallic fans have been accustomed to success in recent years, at international and club level. It has been a French golden age and the sport is booming there. But this is becoming a time of frustration and rising tension.
The last two rounds of this Six Nations loom as a key tipping point for Galthie’s team and the game in their country.