France team: Five takeaways as back survives ‘disaster class’ while Fabien Galthie sticks to task for Six Nations title decider
Yoram Moefana and an inset of France head coach Fabien Galthie.
Following the announcement of Fabien Galthie’s France team to tackle England in the final round of the Six Nations, here are our five takeaways.
The top line
The Les Bleus boss has been forced into changes, though he would have likely made several regardless, following the shock defeat to Scotland last time out.
The front-row remains untinkered with props Jean-Baptiste Gros and Dorian Aldegheri on either side of hooker Julien Marchand but the changes begin right behind them. The Toulouse locking pairing of Thibaud Flament and Emmanuel Meafou is reinstated after featuring off the bench at Murrayfield, with Charles Ollivon shifted to the number eight jersey and Mickael Guillard named on the bench.
There is a baptism of fire for Temo Matiu, who takes over from Oscar Jegou, who has been slapped on the wrist for his eye gouging of Ewan Ashman, as the Bordeaux rookie makes his Test debut on the flank with Francois Cros, the lone survivor of the loose trio that was defeated in the Scottish capital. Matiu also benefits from the absence of Anthony Jelonch, who has been ruled out due to a calf injury.
The half-backs are retained as Antoine Dupont skippers the team with Matthieu Jalibert at fly-half, whilst there is just one change to the backline as Pierre-Louis Barassi replaces the injured Nicolas Depoortere and partners Yoram Moefana. Wingers Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Theo Attissogbe feature once again with Thomas Ramos at full-back.
With all the changes to the starting XV, Galthie has altered his bench too, but has once again backed the 6-2 split, backing the same front-row cover from Murrayfield in Peato Mauvaka, Rodrigue Neti and Demba Bamba.
Hugo Auradou and Joshua Brennan join Guillard as the three back-five replacements, the former duo coming into the matchday 23. Baptiste Serin makes it five bench appearances in a row, and he is joined by Emilien Gailleton, who fills Barassi’s void.
Bulking up
The locking duo of Ollivon and Guillard was mightily effective in opening two rounds of the competition, but it was notable that Galthie made the alternation for Italy in round three, bringing in the heftier duo of Flament and Meafou, against a more astute scrummaging team.
Against Scotland, the head coach made the selection error of reverting to the former, and as a consequence, his side lacked gain-line grunt and power. For England, he has once again returned to the tried and tested. The changes are far more nuanced than just injury and the stupidity of Jegou, as one feels that Flament-Meafou is far better suited for England.
It’s not often that Les Bleus are overpowered, but that was the case at Murrayfield, and although Galthie is a former scrum-half, he understands the need to win the physicality battle.
There is certainly more heft and power in the forward pack this week, with 24-year-old Matiu offering an extra centimetre or so on Jegou, but adds 10-odd kilograms to the loose trio.
England’s form has been diabolical over the last three weeks but that hasn’t extended to their set-pieces, where Steve Borthwick’s men haven’t been competent but world-class, particularly when Jamie George is at hooker. After being outmuscled up front last week, France needs their pack to rise to the occasion that is Le Crunch if they are to defend their title.
Two major concerns
Uini Atonio’s devastating retirement after a heart attack has left a giant void in the French pack that remains unfilled after four rounds of the Six Nations.
Forwards coach William Servat has come out to bat for Dorian Aldegheri, who has been backed to start all five of the Championship matches this year, but frankly, the gulf in class is evident for all to see. France have the best scrum success rate in the Six Nations this year at 91 per cent but that hardly paints the full picture as they have conceded 11 penalties at the set-piece and won just three. Only Ireland have conceded more, whilst England and Italy top the charts for penalties won with seven apiece.
All the blame does not fall on Aldegheri’s shoulders, far from it, but Galthie has relented with the same front-row for all four encounters to date. Unless stark improvements are made, Galthie is going to have to look past the current tighthead prop stocks, loosehead to a lesser degree, as the World Cup fast approaches.
Meanwhile, one has to wonder whether Galthie was watching the same game unfold at Murrayfield as the rest of us as Moefana is retained in the number 12 jersey.
The Bordeaux midfielder endured a disaster class, and that is putting it politely as Sione Tuipulotu and co. punched holes through his channel with regular ease while he offered little to nothing with the ball in hand.
Galthie has repeatedly selected on form throughout his tenure, but this week, Moefana is the exception as he is clearly getting the nod on pedigree and previously proven international capability – which was absent against the Scots. Quite simply, he cannot resemble a turnstile on defence for a second week in a row, as even a disjointed attacking performance that England produced against Italy will exploit him.
The big snubs
What makes Moefana’s selection all the more baffling is that the latest young gun French superstar Fabien Brau-Boirie took so quickly to international rugby earlier in the tournament. The 20-year-old has tongues wagging at his potential, but Galthie has backed experience over youth on this occasion, with the former being crucial in the crunch.
In stark contrast, Galthie has selected the uncapped Matiu to effectively take over from Jelonch in the reshuffled back-row while dropping Lenni Nouchi out of the matchday squad entirely. Matiu is two years Nouchi’s senior, but the latter has been in the French squad longer and has impressed with his cameos off the bench. Many predicted that he’d be the only promoted to the starting line-up that required at least two back-row alterations, but instead, he got the hook.
The last snub is another case of Galthie favouring form as he has not called upon the fit-again Maxime Lucu, who has for several seasons now been Dupont’s deputy. That position has been filled by Serin this Six Nations and sensationally so, with the RC Toulon man enjoying a particularly excellent cameo off the bench when Dupont was rattled.
Lucu has been trusted time and time again by the coaching staff but Serin has long deserved another crack in the team, particularly during a Six Nations or the November international window, and he has taken his opportunities with both hands.
Galthie resists the urge to wield the axe
The 10-point defeat at Murrayfield flattered the French, who were well and truly outplayed, and instead of ripping up the script, Galthie has stuck to task for the most part.
Many of the changes that he has made have been due to injury and suspension. It paints a picture of confidence from the head coach and not one of panic, which Borthwick has been accused of following the losses to Scotland and Ireland.
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Outside of Moefana, the backline wasn’t the issue against Scotland; in fact, they may well be the only reason they remain in the hunt for the title, and their bid didn’t come to an emphatic end last week. The back-three of LBB, Ramos and Attissogbe is comfortably the most form combination in the Championship, whilst the combo of Dupont and Jalibert is a foregone conclusion.
The front-row is clearly a work-on for Les Bleus but the head coach is trusting them to set things right which can be liberating for the players. The second-row is more of a rotation than a change.
France will know precisely what is required of them before the first whistle at the Stade de France as their title defence remains within their control.
