Galthie – the tough coach with a thin skin – still divides opinion in French heartlands
Hbeing the focus of Covid-19 outbreak has not helped the man who has been central to his team’s Grand Slam push
This was supposed to be the year France finally left the cliches behind. On the field, at least, that is true – thanks to Shaun Edwards’s defensive blue wall, the “flaky French” tag is a thing of the past. But off the field, France are still showing a penchant for chaos, evidenced by the mass Covid-19 outbreak which led to the postponement of their fixture against Scotland and an inquiry from the French sports ministry.
At the centre of it all has been Fabien Galthie, the man hailed as the great reformer of Les Bleus but who fell under scrutiny after he left the French squad’s bubble on the opening weekend of the Six Nations to watch his son play rugby.
An internal inquiry cleared him of wrongdoing and at his press briefing on Thursday, Galthie was in no mood to offer apologies. The 51-year-old is a divisive figure in France’s rugby heartlands but, crucially, has the backing of his camp.
“Fabien and Rafa [Ibanez] have worked very hard to lay down values for the squad and they have served us very well,” Edwards told The Daily Telegraph. “No one is 100 per cent sure how Covid might have come into the camp.
“If Emmanuel Macron can get it, if Donald Trump can get it, if Boris Johnson can get it, some of the most powerful people on the planet and all supposedly in tight bubbles, then perhaps we shouldn’t be that surprised.”
Former England, Biarritz and Stade Francais flanker Richard Pooljones, who is a former team-mate and long-standing friend of Galthie’s, paints the picture of a contradictory character – a tough guy with, at times, a thin skin. He points to the highs and lows of the former scrum-half ’s playing days, which included him coming into the 1991 World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Pierre Berbizier and retiring after France were knocked out by England in the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup.
“Fabien has a reputation as a hard taskmaster, but he is also a very sensitive individual. He is not loved by everyone that comes across him, but that just goes with the territory,” Pool-jones said. “He has had to grow a tougher skin and his path to this point, as a player and as a coach, has not been a straight line. There have been many setbacks and disappointments.
“He has this strength of character on show out front but he can also be quite tight and tortured within. What is for sure is that he has matured and he is deservedly known as the best technical coach in France.”
One place where Galthie’s more sensitive nature comes through is in his use of social media, where he quotes 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud, expounds on his passion for traditional baking techniques and celebrates the achievements of his children.
Galthie is the only Six Nations coach with an Instagram account and before the Covid outbreak had posted actively, including a few illadvised snaps that did not show best practice in these socially distanced times – a shot of the French celebrating their win in Dublin in close quarters, and one from the 2023 World Cup draw in Paris with Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin. The pair are pressed close together, without a face mask in sight.
None of the players in Galthie’s squad follow his lead in terms of social media – but perhaps that stems from the nature of the coach’s relationship with his talented young squad, who he seems to look upon as his students.
Pool-jones explains: “The project has come together even more quickly than he might have imagined but that is due to this fabulous generation that France has. Even so,
‘Fabien has this strength of character on show, but he can also be tight and tortured within’
don’t make the mistake of thinking that Fabien’s goal is all about the 2023 World Cup. It is not.
“He has told the squad that his job is to make them not only better players but better people, to help them evolve and relish the experience as it is happening. It’s a teacher-and-pupil relationship, a sense of preparing them to deal with the world around them and to embrace the moment.”
French rugby has a reputation for Machiavellian plots, but it would seem Galthie has the firm support of French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte.
Pool-jones sees how Galthie has forged alliances in the right places that perhaps explain his bullish demeanour with the media. “Everything [regarding Covid] will have been dealt with in-house. Fabien put a lot of thought and effort into pulling his management team together and there is absolutely no doubt that Fabien has the backing of Bernard Laporte. They are very close and very loyal to each other.”
If France can secure a first win at Twickenham since 2005 and take a step closer to a Grand Slam, all thoughts of Covid controversies will soon disappear.