‘We wanted to send a message to other teams: France are back’
➤ Les Bleus have been the year’s standout side and, according to manager Raphael Ibanez, they are only just getting started
France are not just fun again: based on their form this year, they are once more a major force in the sport, and team manager Raphael Ibanez can pinpoint the moment he knew something special was happening. “Winning away f rom home in Cardiff,” he said, when asked which of France’s five wins from six games in 2020 stood out. “That requires a strong character.”
Ibanez should know, having won three Grand Slams as a player with France, while also captaining the side to the 1999 World Cup final. The next part of his answer should put everyone on notice.
“I know we should expect some setbacks in the future, but the main message we wanted to send out to other teams is, we’re back,” he says.
“Of course, we know we have a few areas we need to address, we especially conceded too many penalties in the games against Wales and Ireland, for example. But ut we wanted this French team to be e very hard to play, hard to deal with. And offensively, to create some chaos, some trouble for the best defensive setups. That’s the main goal for us.”
Glance over France’s s numbers for 2020 and the team have certainly wreaked havoc going forward. orward. Compared to the other Six Nations sides, France are scoring more points, making more metres and offloads, and are tied first for tries and clean breaks, while sitting fractionally behind Wales for defenders beaten, at a rate of 21.8 per game. me.
A spine is emerging, starting with Julien Marchand at hooker and extending through locks Bernard Le Roux and Paul Willemse, the capt ain in the back row, Charles Ollivon, irrepressible young half-backs Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack and finishing with Gael Fickou and Virimi Vakatawa in midfield.
Outside of Le Roux, , who at 30 is playing some of the best rugby of his career, this is a youthful side. Raw leaders such as Ollivon are learning as they go. Tomorrow at Murrayfield, France will return to the scene of their only defeat so far this year.
“We have been fortunate to give confidence to some key players. Ollivon as captain, that was his first experience with so many responsibilities and he did really well, because he looked after his teammates and played some great games,” Ibanez says. “The French team was desperate for years and years to find some talent and a good l i nk between the backs and forwards at nine and
10. We are now well aware of the potential there with Antoine and Romain.
Those two young players are still learning a lot but they keep developing their skills and understanding of the game. But they learn fast, which is good for us.”
It i s hard not to get excited about Dupont in particular. Different in style to the organisers France have recently had at scrumhalf – Dimitri Yachvili and Morgan Parra – Dupont is muscular, a runner as well as an excel excellent distributor. It is rare for France to make a break these days without Dupont popping up as a support runner on the inside.
“He is lear learning so fast,” Ibanez s says. “He has so mu much talent and potential. He was named the best player of the Six Nations, which has never happened for any France men’s player s since the trophy was create ated in 2004. “People tend to believe he could be part of a world XV. What we say and think is that a world XV is hypothetical and, in reality, if you want to win titles and conquer the world, you have to face the best. Antoine himself has faced the best in his position in the northern hemisphere, but we have not played any southern-hemisphere teams – Aaron Smith and TJ Perenara are probably good examples – so there is still a lot to come for himself and the team.”
Dupont, Ntamack and Ollivon were already on the scene last year, when France arguably should have beaten Wales to make the World Cup semi-finals. The new coaching staff of Ibanez, Fabien Galthie, Laurent Labit, William Servat, Karim Ghezal and, notably, Shaun Edwards have made an instant impact.
Edwards, in particular, seems like the missing piece France have needed for a decade, with his grasp of the local dialect continuing to improve. “It’s slowly coming along,” notes a laughing Ibanez. “But his contribution is precious. He has so much experience, the trust of the players, which is the most important thing, and on the international stage you do not need too many words, you need to keep it simple.”
This i s not a coaching staff, according to Ibanez, led by a king, like Eddie Jones with England. France have turned to the power of the collective, despite Galthie’s title as head coach. “It’s a common belief that every team needs an emperor leading the team. But Fabien doesn’t behave like that. With myself and the coaching staff, we share everything: selection, management, game plan. It’s reinventing, or creating a new model of managing the team and that’s what we want.”
Most importantly, France have won back the belief of the public, which is crucial with a home World Cup on the horizon.
“As I keep saying to the players, if you give everything you have on the field, people will give that back to you a million times over,” Ibanez says. “I am always there to remind the team of that.”