BENJAMIN KAYSER THIS MONTH
“The depth of the France squad, and the mental ability of the players to shift from underdogs to serious contenders, will be tested”
AND JUST like that, the Six Nations is back! How this French team has evolved is just incredible.
Until October 2020, a lot happened to fill my heart with joy and hope. Between last January and then, the French federation and Top 14 finally allied forces, with Fabien Galthié and his staff creating an exciting, revived, positive and aggressive style of play where the hot French talents thrived. With Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack as spearheads, an enthralling starting XV put France back into the position of serious contenders for World Cup 2023. Our World Cup.
But by the autumn, anxiety and economic pessimism – plus the global pandemic – brought back some old demons. Just as performances were getting better and the squad yearned for more time together, the league narrowed their sights on the Top 14 as France were bullied into a six-game November Test period, with the creation of the Autumn Nations Cup. It forced rotation but also allowed the integrating of new talents. Ollivon, Le Roux, Fickou, Vakatawa and our superstar half-backs are now challenged by Jelonch, Pesenti, Moefana, Villière and a Serin-Jalibert duo.
So, what now? The 37-man squad for this year’s Six Nations proves that however impressive the new faces were, they didn’t eclipse initial starters. Only Brice Dulin, Anthony Jelonch and Pierre Bourgarit retained their spots whilst Ntamack is the one major name missing with injury. One big call is for young, electric Racing wing Donovan Taofifénua. He is the revelation of the Top 14 this season, but with the return of the extraordinary (but sometimes headless) Damian Penaud, I doubt he’ll get many minutes on the field for now.
The FFR-LNR relationship will always be the elephant in the room when addressing future performances. Things are better, but not as solid as a year ago. Yet Galthié still has a 37-man squad rather than 42, which allows him to impose his strategy of high-intensity training. That was the key to positively transforming their displays on the pitch.
I want to focus on the playing field.
It’s a pleasure to see a French team whose target is to return as the top European nation once again. Galthié and Raphaël Ibañez gave a straight-tothe-point answer during their first-ever press conference as heads of the XV de France: “What is our objective? To win titles and win them fast.”
All rugby lovers adore seeing French attacking spirit mixed with the ruthless and aggressive defensive system brought by the best in the business, Shaun Edwards. The depth is there, and competition for the starting positions will be very intense.
Phase Two will be to take these talented, young, hungry players and transform them into winning machines. Add more discipline, more control, fewer upsets. They only lost two games in 2020 – against Scotland in the last Six Nations and England in the Nations Cup final, with a rotated squad. Both should provide a platform for the staff and players: you win or you learn.
France face three away trips, to Rome, Dublin and Twickenham. This calendar, added to other nations’ familiarity with this group now, means winning the Grand Slam will be an even more complicated task for France. The depth of the squad, the tactical improvements, and the mental ability of the players to shift from underdogs to serious contenders will be tested.
Top-level competition is not easy and uncontrollable components have an impact. But if they focus on what they can control – discipline, their hunger for titles, team spirit and commitment – I think this extraordinarily talented team can win the Six Nations. A Grand Slam would be the icing on the cake, but Galthié and Ibañez only asked for a title, they didn’t specify with icing!