Axel May, edited by Romain Rouillard
modified to
08:58, March 11, 2023
Beaten in Ireland on the second day of this 2023 Six Nations Tournament, the Rugby Blues are playing big this Saturday in London against the English. Fabien Galthié’s men tweaked the final settings this Friday on the Twickenham lawn where a high altitude crunch awaits them in less than 24 hours.
Winners of Scotland (32-21) two weeks ago at the Stade de France, the Rugby Blues managed to restart the machine after their defeat in Dublin against the Irish (32-19). But to keep a tiny hope of contesting the superiority of the XV of Clover in this 2023 Six Nations Tournament, Fabien Galthié’s men will have to win this Saturday in England.
The Blues have been waiting for victory since 2005
Under a gray sky, the Blues trained for about an hour this Friday on the London lawn of Twickenham, the Mecca of English rugby. A lawn on which the tricolors have not won since 2005 in this tournament. “If we lose, it’s over.” With these words, the second line Paul Willemse recalls the importance of this match against England. Because in the event of poor performance, the Blues, already handicapped by their defeat in Ireland, would abandon any chance of retaining their title. Coach Fabien Galthié still wants to believe it: “We don’t want to let go of the trophy”.
The statistics, they are not on the side of the Blues “Since 2005, no victory in the tournament at Twickenham”, recognizes the young winger Ethan Dumortier. “It will be up to us to put the right ingredients this weekend to hope to change this statistic”.
“It’s always important to be able to immerse yourself in places”
Despite a special atmosphere in this large empty stadium where only the cries of the players resounded, the recognition of the stadium remains an important step, as captain Antoine Dupont confided. “It’s always important to be able to soak up the place, the atmosphere. Of course, the empty stadium doesn’t make the same noise as 80,000 people rumbling, but it’s always important to take your bearings on the weather tomorrow, the distances, the terrain, the wind. It allows us to prepare, to get a foothold in the match the next day and to be able to project ourselves mentally too”.
The sporting challenge is simple for the XV of France: beat the English to maintain the hope of retaining the title acquired last year. And incidentally, defeating the Indian sign in this mythical lair.