Indeed, at the end of the group stages on Sunday, a ranking of the eight best teams will be established, on which the quarter posters will be based according to the following principle: 1st against 8th, 2nd against 7th etc…
However, Les Bleues, victorious over South Africa (40-5) then narrowly defeated by England (13-7) in their first two matches in Pool C, are currently fourth in this ranking. .
If France wants to hope not to face the best nations -English, New Zealand and Canadian- in the quarterfinals, it must maintain this position and therefore garner the maximum number of points. What will pass against the Fijdi by a victory, ideally improved.
This is why “this match has a special flavor”, said Thursday at a press conference the coach of the Bleues Thomas Darracq, who asked his players to “maintain” the defensive intensity demonstrated against the “Red Roses” (214 tackles), while increasing their offensive level.
In order to allow for the quarters “to girls to recover and treat all the sores”, and to compensate for the absences of the scrum half Laure Sansus, package on injury until the end of the competition, and of the third Romane Ménager line, exit on concussion protocol and unavailable, the coach of Les Bleues has almost completely overhauled his starting XV, making eleven changes.
“The match against England was very hard-hitting, even traumatic for some players,” explained Darracq.
– “The big jump” –
The whole pack has thus been turned upside down, with the exception of second line Céline Ferer, while third line Gaëlle Hermet, substitute against the “Red Roses”, regains her role as captain.
The back Jessy Trémoulière (71 caps), bronze medalist at the 2014 World Cup, will make his first appearance in the competition, at the opening, Caroline Drouin being moved to N.12.
This is the first time that France will face the Fijians, a team “in the image” of its male counterpart, “very surprising”, showing a lot of “creativity and initiative”, with a “organization not always very clear,” said the coach of the French.
“So it’s a bit of a big leap,” he added, stressing that Les Bleues would have to be “very vigilant” against a team with undeniable athletic qualities and above all “very playful, in a good way. term”.
The Fijians, for whom this is the first World Cup, “are trying, are not afraid of anything and it will be a treat to play against them because they will make us see all the colors, physically and in the game”, agrees the third row Julie Annery.
“They play on instinct, on feeling, on improvisation and they adapt each time to the team against which they are playing”, abounds winger Melissande Llorens. In short, “it’s a team that will give everything”: the French have been warned.
