At the OL Park in Lyon-Décines,
Maxime Lucu admitted it with a frank smile: the Blues watched the Italy-South Africa match “sideways” while sharing the meal on Saturday lunchtime, a few hours before getting the better of Fiji in Lyon (54-17). “We saw that they “went south”, we were not surprised,” continues the Bordeaux player, who came to the rescue at the opening on Saturday evening after the serious shoulder injury of the unfortunate Romain Ntamack.
By “doing south-af”, understand a regular crushing of an opponent, with a Dantesque addition in Turin (7-66), including six tries scored in the first period (nine in total). Before that, there was certainly a surprising defeat in Australia (42-38) on September 27. But given the very overhauled team on the Springbok side, it is more logical to take into consideration the three successes in four test matches against New Zealand during the summer.
French rugby “frustrated” in front of the Springboks
“We know that they are diversifying a lot,” continues Maxime Lucu. Against the All Blacks, they knew how to win in different ways. » Enough to make the reigning double world champion (2019 and 2023) more than ever the absolute scarecrow of the rugby planet, while this armada will be at the Stade de France on Friday (9:10 p.m.) as part of the Nations Championship?
Yes, yes, and definitely yes, as proven by the last two confrontations between the Blues and Springboks in Saint-Denis, during a test match exactly a year ago (17-32), and obviously for this very painful quarter-final of the World Cup (28-29). “We know, we haven’t beaten them since 2022 [30-26 in a test match in Marseille]”, proclaimed Fabien Galthié and Maxime Lucu in turn on Saturday evening. While being careful not to specify that South Africa had completely tamed the Blues in 9 of the last 10 clashes for sixteen years...
Is there really a world where we imagine Antoine Dupont's gang putting an end to this terrible series on Friday, despite a rather sluggish recovery context and an avalanche of damaging injuries, especially at the opening (Ramos, Jalibert, Hastoy, plus the latest tile to date Ntamack)? “It’s never mission impossible,” assures Maxime Lucu. We know it's hard to beat South Africa, we've failed several times and we're all frustrated in French rugby about that. Everyone is waiting for this victory and we need it. »
“It’s the biggest challenge possible”
It's an understatement to say it, and stopping this merciless war machine is a brave undertaking, as several players in the interview zone after Fiji were able to distill, taking care not to be too admiring/respectful.
Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang: “It’s the biggest challenge possible, South Africa, a shock that we dream of experiencing when we’re kids. It would be incredible if I could compete against this team.”
Sipili Falatea: “It’s always exciting to go up against the best from around the world.”
Yoram Moefana: “They are the best centers in the world, I can’t wait to compete against them if I have the chance to play on Friday.”
Maxime Lucu: “We know that this is the best, they have dominated world rugby for seven years now”.
So yes, it is time for this to stop, and “the remarkable state of mind to compensate for the injuries” (dixit Maxime Lucu) will probably not be enough. Especially in the event of a reverse start like against Fiji, because the consequences would undoubtedly be very different on the scoreboard against the South African armada.
Effective defense for more than an hour
“But even with all our waste, being able to score so many points [54 therefore], it’s very promising for the future,” notes Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang. He is obviously euphoric at the idea of playing his first match at the Stade de France since... the victorious final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in rugby sevens alongside Antoine Dupont!
Likewise, the first steps of the new defense coach within the Blues Geoffrey Doumayrou are rather encouraging, given the three points only conceded after 65 minutes of play against Fiji. And if there is one area in which Fabien Galthié excels, it is in instilling confidence in his group when a mountain presents itself, even if the formula is publicly sprinkled with a hell of a layer of mystery.
“I feel it deep inside me”
“I think we’re going to go look for things,” he confided. We know how to do it, we have already done it in the past in such difficult conditions. The French team is going to do something that we don't expect of them. We have six days to do something imaginable. »
