France eye Six Nations boost after Rugby World Cup despair
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France's head coach Fabien Galthie has said that he wants his team to carry on the last four years of work when they kick off the Six Nations.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – France hosted the 2023 Rugby World Cup having won over a nation, who backed Fabien Galthie’s men for home glory and a maiden Webb Ellis Cup.
A comprehensive opening 27-13 victory over New Zealand set alight patriotic fervour in the belief that skipper Antoine Dupont could lead France to victory on home soil.
But those hopes were cruelly dashed at the quarter-final stage, where eventual winners South Africa sealed a nail-biting 29-28 victory to unceremoniously dump Dupont and his side out of the competition.
“No regrets,” coach Galthie maintained after the loss. “We did everything we could to make the most of our potential.”
That potential must now be channelled into the Six Nations, with France kicking the tournament off on Feb 2 with the World Cup final many neutral observers wanted and even expected, against Ireland.
There had also been high World Cup hopes for the Irish, fresh from a Grand Slam in the 2023 Six Nations. But they went down to New Zealand in another gripping quarter-final, leaving coach Andy Farrell – as meticulous as Galthie in his planning – licking his wounds in disappointment.
“For us, it was a time of mourning,” Galthie acknowledged.
“It’s a huge disappointment after four years of hard work, four years of successful work with 80 per cent wins and all those records. The only objective we wanted to achieve was to be world champions. There was no other.”
Looking ahead, France will be without Dupont for the Six Nations, the combative scrum-half having chosen to play for the national rugby sevens team ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It is like going back to school, just as is every Six Nations, but we are not starting from scratch,” Galthie added of preparing for European rugby’s showpiece tournament.
“There’s a bit of a feeling that it’s a new start, but also carrying on the last four years’ work.
“We’ve lost two matches in two years, we’ve won a lot and it’s interesting to fall back on this common path.”
Gregory Alldritt takes over the captaincy from Dupont, but Anthony Jelonch, who deputised for the scrum-half when he was injured at the World Cup, will miss the Six Nations with a knee injury.
France will need a strong performance against Ireland to kick-start the good feeling around the squad Galthie has built since taking over in 2019.
Without Dupont, all eyes will be on Alldritt’s ability to step up into the captaincy gap left by a player most people agree is currently the best in the world. AFP
