Second-string France wary of ‘aggressive’ Uruguay
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France's Anthony Jelonch, who is expected to captain the side for their Rugby World Cup clash against Uruguay, takes part in a training session.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – France coach Fabien Galthie may have made wholesale changes to his side for Thursday’s Rugby World Cup game with lowly Uruguay in Lille, but he is refusing to take them lightly.
Les Bleus opened the tournament with a rip-roaring victory over three-time winners New Zealand last Friday, and are now the favourites to secure a quarter-final berth by topping Pool A.
Uruguay, who start their World Cup campaign only this week, finished bottom of their pool in 2019 but Galthie saw positives from their performances in Japan.
“They beat Fiji (30-27). Against Australia, it was a respectable score (45-10). They have big hearts. Uruguay is a different country, with their fundamental values being at the breakdown and their pride, which are big priorities for them. They are a team with a lot of energy and aggression,” he said.
Galthie has kept just three players from the All Blacks victory, having chosen to rest the likes of No. 8 Gregory Alldritt, centre Gael Fickou, flanker Charles Ollivon as well as captain and star scrum-half Antoine Dupont.
The 54-year-old is also without hooker Julien Marchand due to a hamstring issue suffered in last week’s win, a result that lifted expectations of a first Webb Ellis Cup success even further among the home supporters.
Replacing Dupont as skipper is No. 8 Anthony Jelonch, who plays his first game since rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in February. He previously led his country during the three-match Test Series with Australia in 2021.
“I always had this World Cup in mind. I gave myself the means to be at the World Cup. To be back for this World Cup as captain is a huge moment of pride for me. I know the knee’s holding up. I’m now at 100 per cent,” Jelonch said.
On the right wing for Galthie’s side will be Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who will make just his fourth Test appearance, after his debut in August. The 20-year-old will also become his country’s youngest player at a World Cup.
“It doesn’t mean much to me, I’m happy but it’s not that which will help us be world champions. Things have gone really quickly for me. I want to enjoy it,” he added.
For Uruguay, they will have a Gallic touch to their outfit, with five of their squad based in France.
The South Americans beat Fiji in 2019 for a first-ever victory over a team ranked in the world’s top 10, sparking scenes of jubilation and offering a rare upset in the early stages of that tournament.
They had won just two World Cup games previously – against Spain on their debut in 1999 in Wales and against Georgia in Sydney four years later.
Now they are aiming for more fairy-tale results, with Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou expected to join his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in the stands to watch the match.
“There are higher expectations, with a much more mature and deeper squad in quantity and quality of players,” said their Argentinian-born coach Esteban Meneses.
The game takes place at Lille’s 50,096-capacity Stade Pierre-Mauroy, the home of the town’s football club, who won the last of their four French titles in 2021.
Despite the fixture being played nearer to the Belgian border than to a top-tier professional rugby outfit, tickets for the match have been sold out for months.
“It’s a football region, which is what you think when you come from the south-west. So we’re very happy to see all the rugby fans here and we’ll try and give them the best spectacle possible,” Jelonch explained. AFP, REUTERS
