‘Bitter’ France carrying ‘scars’ but it has ‘nothing’ to do with World Cup defeat to Springboks
France players look dejected during the Six Nations clash against Ireland at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
Assistant coach William Servat admits that France will be carrying “scars” from their opening round defeat to Ireland in the Six Nations.
Les Bleus were defeated 38-17 in the first game of the 2024 Six Nations, Ireland’s biggest-ever win over France on French soil.
‘Resentment and bitterness’
The result caught Servat by surprise, and the former Les Bleus hooker said that they would be carrying the disappointment of their performance into their round two clash against Scotland in Edinburgh.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Servat. “We prepared very well for this match, but the reality is that we missed out. I don’t think we got our strategy wrong, but we didn’t do what we wanted to do.
“We came away with a lot of resentment and bitterness. The Scotland match will be prepared with the scars of that game against Ireland.”
World Cup had no influence
The loss to Ireland was France’s first outing since they were knocked out of their home Rugby World Cup in the quarter-finals.
South Africa defeated France 29-28 in the quarter-finals of last year’s Rugby World Cup, but Servat insisted that the lacklustre showing against Ireland had nothing to do with their crushing disappointment in exiting their home World Cup last year.
“We didn’t prepare for the Ireland game with any thoughts whatsoever of the South Africa game,” he said.
“It was prepared with the experience of South Africa but in no way with the stigmata.
“This match had nothing to do with the World Cup.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the Six Nations, Servat believes that France can bounce back, insisting that head coach Fabien Galthie and the rest of the squad and coaching team had analysed their failure and thinks they have “found the keys to bouncing back very quickly”.
Changes for Scotland
France looks set to be without lock Paul Willemse for the clash against Scotland, with the second-rower facing a disciplinary hearing after he was sent off against Ireland.
Romain Taofifenua, who was a late withdrawal for the Ireland Test, is also a concern, which may result in teenage sensation Posolo Tuilagi earning a second cap.
While France will be forced to make some changes, Servat added that they would not be making sweeping alterations in response to the round one result.
“You always have to expect small adjustments,” Servat added.
“(But) it would be a mistake to dismiss everything out of hand. For players to have confidence, they need to feel that we trust them. So don’t expect any huge changes.”