World Cup ghosts haunt France

Lille – Ever since France’s agonising defeat to South Africa in October’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, Les Bleus’ head coach Fabien Galthie and his players vowed to come to terms with the loss and move on.

However, in the four months since that one-point loss to the eventual champions, with many having tipped France to lift the Webb Ellis trophy for the first time, the French still appear haunted by the ghosts of that heartbreaking exit.

Sunday’s 13-13 Six Nations draw with Italy came after the temporary boost of a win over Scotland.

That victory had followed a home humbling to Ireland, who have shown how to deal with their own quarterfinal loss – to New Zealand – and are on course for a historic second Six Nations Grand Slam in a row.

Galthie took over after the 2019 World Cup by reacting to years of under-performing with an all-conquering style, sweeping aside the likes of New Zealand and South Africa and also lifting the 2022 Six Nations.

That positivity has all but disappeared and Galthie’s attempt at breathing fresh air into his team by changing the coaching staff has yet to bear fruit.

“It feels massive, comparing where we were in the past to where we are now, it’s not that big of a thing. but at our level it’s a lot on paper, the quality of the performance,” Galthie said.

“We will put a lot of energy into this moment of painful resilience,” the 54-year-old added.

Galthie’s ability to get over the Springboks loss has been hampered by the absence of regular skipper Antoine Dupont, away with France’s Sevens team.

Dupont, the injured Anthony Jelonch and Thibaud Flament were all present at the Stade de France last autumn.

Regular first-choice flyhalf Romain Ntamack continues to suffer from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup.

Former France captain Galthie’s decision to stick with ageing scrum-half Maxime Lucu as Dupont’s stand-in, instead of starting with the more energetic 21-year-old Nolann Le Garrec, has been the main focus of criticism.

“If you see the team line-up compared to the quarterfinal, it’s changed a bit,” Galthie said. “Our way of working is firstly a vision with consistency,” Galthie added.

Next up for Galthie’s men is 10 March, to a youthful Wales, who are still finding their feet in Warren Gatland’s second spell in charge. –