World Cup 2023: “Blue” as never the favorites of “their” World Cup

As a result, France lost their trophy. After losing last February in Ireland (32-19), the Blues lost their Six Nations title this Saturday, March 18th. A final victory against Wales in total decline (41-28) will not be enough to achieve the double they have not managed in over 15 years. Against all odds, at the meetings, the tricolors gave (very) firm guarantees for the coming months. The overwhelming demonstration at Twickenham against the English opponent (10-53) certainly represents a new stage in the development of a team that never stops growing. Although Ireland remains at the top of world rugby in terms of accounting, this competition has undoubtedly solidified France’s favorite, which has been impressive for many months, to the ultimate Grail.

With the arrival of Fabien Galtier at the helm, after several years of decline and a disappointing 2019 World Cup, the French rugby team has set an exceptional record. The first encounter with England (24-17), at the top of their game and reigning vice-champions of the world, immediately gave color to a hitherto exceptional mandate. Since February 2020, the Blues have achieved an 80% success rate (29 wins in 36 games). For the first time in their history, they even finished – in 2022 – a year undefeated. Since the 2021 summer tour of Australia, contested without a significant portion of the tricolor holders interested in the Top 14, they even remain with 16 wins in 17 confrontations (i.e. over 94% success). “We have an 80% win rate, I think this has never happened before in the history of French rugby”greeted the coach after the final whistle against the Welsh. “I hope they are afraid of us” he jokes.

Thanks to this exceptional momentum, the French are now firmly established at the top of world rugby (2nd in the World Rugby rankings).

During this four-year cycle, and even more so in the last months, XV France offered scalps to all the major nations of the oval. Thus, Antoine Dupont and his family won, sometimes even several times, over Australia, Argentina, England, Ireland, Wales, South Africa – the world champion – or Scotland. Also memorable is the prestigious success against New Zealand (40-25) in November 2021. Some less prestigious teams also bowed to the blue-white-red steamroller, such as Japan, Georgia or Italy.

In addition to the result, there is a real and tangible progress in the content. Even during this 2023 Tournament, during which Romain Ntamak’s teammates only gave up in Ireland – the world’s No. 1 country – the rise in strength is evident. Against England and Wales, France, for example, scored a whopping 94 points (averaging 47 points per game).

The Tricolors rely on their twelfth man to bolster their confidence and take down the heavyweights of the international scene one by one. In front of the public, they have only lost once since Fabien Galtier came to power. Only Scotland managed to win against France in March 2021 (23-27). Small defeat at home in four years: a performance remarkable enough to highlight. The Stade de France, which quickly flared up after the accumulation of disappointments over the past decade, has become a real fortress. “We still have an impressive win ratio. Here we have only one defeat. […] when the match was already won (Bryce Doolin at the time had an opportunity to clear the ball in the final seconds, editor’s note).”, welcomes the former coach of Montpellier. A good omen a few months before the home tournament, which we hope will help win the first star.

If France is (again) scary, it is also and above all because a few months ago she gained a footing. Fabien Galtier and his team draw heavily on the backbone of Stade Toulousin and Stade Rochelle, two of the most successful French clubs of recent years.

While many breeders favored the man-in-the-form policy, not hesitating to upset their XVs with ugliness and poor workmanship, the three-color structure only tints the margins. So far undeniable, Melvin Jaminet saw Thomas Ramos pass him from behind in this Six Nations Tournament. Successfully, the player bypassed Colomier, especially productively (84 points). But this remains the exception. Whether in the pack, where the first and third lines only moved due to injury and unavailability, or in the last lines, where Antoine Dupont-Romain Ntamack had multiple tenures, succession was the word of mouth.

In a broader sense, the BLU individual tank is impressive. At each position, the options are as numerous as they are of high quality. First of all, the XV of France has in its ranks several world references to their position, from Antoine Dupont to Julien Marchand through Gregory Aldrit or Cyril Bailly.

Together, the players in the cock tunic also shine. Following the inalienable Gael Fiku, a real metronome, they found their own rhythm based on the game of “privation”. The goal is to use the foot as much as possible to play in the opponent’s camp and feed off of the ball’s losses and opponent’s inaccuracies. This style of play, which minimizes errors in critical areas, does not eliminate some risk when raising or even flashing an attack. At the same time, in 36 games, the French scored 19 times (52%) more than 30 points. The number is all the more impressive because they often found themselves very close to this symbolic bar when they failed to surpass it.

On the other side of the field, the contribution of Sean Edwards, the defensive coach of the XV French team, is also palpable. For example, during last year’s Grand Slam, the French lost just 73 points in five games, or less than 15 per game.