France boss swats aside crisis talks after Six Nations stalemate
France players form a huddle during their Six Nations clash with Ireland in Marseille.
Despite winning just one of their first three matches during this year’s Six Nations campaign, France head coach Fabien Galthie said his team are not experiencing a crisis.
Les Bleus and Italy played out a dramatic 13-13 draw in Lille on Sunday but the home side were lucky not to suffer a defeat as Italy fly-half Paolo Garbisi failed to slot a penalty in the game’s dying moments.
Third different result
That meant that France have now registered a loss, victory and draw in the Six Nations so far after they suffered a humiliating defeat against Ireland in Marseille and beat Scotland narrowly at Murrayfield in their previous matches in the Championship.
This, after Les Bleus were knocked out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions South Africa, who beat them by a solitary point in that play-off clash.
“At international level, with France, our ambition is to win, when you don’t win it’s not positive,” Galthie told reporters when asked if his side were in a crisis.
“Often within the players when you don’t win it can be a crisis.
“Right now, a loss at home, a win in Scotland, a draw with Italy; not the expected results, it’s a difficult, painful moment.”
Since that World Cup loss to the Springboks, Les Bleus have looked lethargic in the Six Nations – a stark contrast to previous France teams under Galthie, who have always delivered competitive performances since he took charge of the team after the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Garbisi’s missed penalty attempt meant Les Bleus avoided losing three successive home matches for the first time since the 1998/99 season and a first defeat to Italy since 2013.
“I don’t feel something’s broken,” said stand-in captain Charles Ollivon after the clash with the Azzurri. “We have to do better. We work on things but it didn’t pay off today.”
France’s next Six Nations clash is against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, March 10.
Missing regular half-backs
They remain without the services of first choice scrum-half and skipper Antoine Dupont, who is with France’s sevens side ahead of the summer’s Olympics in Paris, as well as injured fly-half Romain Ntamack.
“It’s a challenge, we will question ourselves, for us, our supporters we will work hard,” added Ollivon.
“We promise it and commit it. We will give everything to head to Cardiff and put in a good performance.”