France far from pre-2023 level: Rugby coach Fabien Galthie
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
PARIS – France coach Fabien Galthie said his side remained well short of the level they reached in the previous World Cup cycle, despite the 48-33 win over Australia in the Autumn Series on Nov 22, warning that repeated lapses in discipline and defence continued to hold them back.
He said the first-half performance – they went into the break tied 19-19 after conceding a string of penalties – showed how far France had slipped since entering the 2023 Rugby World Cup as hosts and one of the favourites, only to be knocked out by South Africa by a single point in the quarter-finals.
“We can always question our production, especially in the first half with the indiscipline,” Galthie said. “If we compare with four years ago, we’re not at the same level. Back then we were more solid, more consistent, with 24 wins from 26 matches.”
Captain Antoine Dupont’s long injury absence is obviously an added obstacle to rebuilding cohesion, but France showed too many flaws in the Autumn Series, completely cracking in a 32-17 defeat by South Africa while victories over Fiji and Australia were far from convincing.
“Conceding 12 tries in three matches and giving away eight penalties inside the 22 metres against Australia highlight the scale of the work,” said Galthie.
“It gives us an enormous amount to work on, there’s no point being ready too early.”
The result helped the Six Nations champions secure a top seed for the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw on Dec 3.
Had Australia won by 16 points or more, they would have overtaken France in the world rankings and earn a favourable seeding for the draw.
“I sense great competition within the squad,” said Galthie. “There are players with real potential emerging.”
Among them is centre Nicolas Depoortere, who has scored four tries in the last two Tests.
Thomas Ramos, Louis Bielle-Biarrey (two), Julien Marchand and Maxime Lamothe also crossed the line for the French at the Stade de France.
Matt Faessler scored two of Australia’s tries, with Angus Bell, Max Jorgensen and Josh Nasser also crossing the line.
The defeat meant World Cup hosts Australia suffered a first winless European tour since 1958 and their record 10th loss in a year.
“It’s reflective of a lot of the games on this tour,” Australia coach Joe Schmidt told reporters. “We’ve been in every game at half-time. And we haven’t finished them off well enough.”
Meanwhile, winger Tom Rogers became the first Welshman to score a hat-trick of tries against New Zealand, but his heroics were in vain as the visitors eased to a 52-26 victory
In other key Tests on Nov 22, Japan edged out Georgia 25-23
REUTERS
