Special envoy to Lyon
Did your plan go perfectly against Italy? Fabien Galthié: We will say that it was a successful match, yes. There was the major challenge of qualifying. For that, we had to win and we did. The score also satisfies us. The fact of being able to control the match from start to finish by rotating the players is also satisfying. We finished the qualifying phase with four victories and we can look forward to the future.
Was rotating your squad early a goal? Everything happened quickly. In the 24th minute, the match was almost over. It was our desire to attack this match with all the best we can do, even if we can never anticipate everything. We have a plan, but often it doesn’t go as planned. But overall, it went better than expected.
Are you satisfied with the domination of your forwards? The conquest was successful, the scrum and touchline were very positive including with the rotations linked to coaching. We were able to exert permanent pressure on Italy at this level.
And the defense has shown progress… It’s true that our defense is progressing. We will quietly study areas for improvement. But conceding 7 points is consistent with our ambitions in this World Cup. It is clear that we are trying to concede as few points as possible, to suffer as little as possible without the ball. If you look at the teams that want to win the World Cup, they all have a tight defense.
A word about Damian Penaud, author of a new double for already six tries registered in this World Cup. The winger is the last player in a skill chain. He has the chance to play in a team that performs well and leads him into decisive areas. It’s easy when your team dominates the opponent. Individual performance is served by the collective, regardless of the player. Many players have been with us for four years because the team wears them.
Do you think you can recover your injured players, Antoine Dupont and Julien Marchand, for the quarter-final? We are always disappointed and sad when a player gets injured with us. We, the staff, always feel responsible. But not guilty. Never. When we put a player on the field, everything is validated. We prepared for the scenario of losing players to injury. Romain Ntamack and Paul Willemse had to withdraw before the competition. Today, we have two injured, Julien Marchand and Antoine Dupont. But if they are still with us, it is because we are certain that we will find them in the competition. We will move forward together at 33, count on us.
Are you happy to be in the quarter-final?Yes. We are very, very happy to have succeeded in this match, this qualifying phase and, more generally, our four years and our 43 matches. Tonight, we’re going to have a good time together. And then we will look towards our second World Cup final, after having already played a first against New Zealand. We know what awaits us next Sunday: a final, I repeat. And I weigh my words. Whoever the opponent is: the reigning world champion who wants to keep it or the world number.
