Cédric Chasseur // Photo credit: Denis Charlet / AFP
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8:12 a.m., March 16, 2024
This Saturday marks the end of the VI Nations tournament, which seems promised to Ireland. With a “Crunch” to conclude, the Blues found some momentum last weekend by beating Wales. We must therefore mark the occasion against England and prove that the French XV is on the right track, after a difficult tournament.
End of the VI Nations tournament this Saturday, a competition that the XV of France can just as well win this evening, at the cost of a very hypothetical scenario, it is true, as finishing fourth or fifth. This match against England is therefore a bit of a justice of the peace for his Blues and the result will have a direct impact on the overall results of this competition.
“We didn’t always offer what we wanted”
This is in any case the opinion of Patrick Arletaz, the coach of the three quarters: “A defeat? Of course, it will be a disappointing tournament and if there is a victory against England, we will not skip on the ceiling either. We are going to build ourselves with scars and by telling ourselves that these scars will allow us to be stronger tomorrow.” Blues who have not won in front of their home crowd since October and in a twist of fate, it was already in Lyon.
Since then, there have been two defeats and a draw against Italy. For the captain, Grégory Alldritt, the French XV must do better: “We have not always satisfied our supporters. We have not always offered what we wanted, so we are determined and we want to put out a great performance to make them proud. And reason to believe it, the Blues have always won at least one home match in this competition since 1969, a time when the tournament only had five nations.