Questioned in the columns of L’Équipe, Karim Ghezal, former assistant coach of the XV of France in charge of the sidelines, returned to the elimination of the Blues in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, against Africa South. He notably mentioned the controversies over the arbitration of New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe, curtly brushing aside this subject: “From the moment you take four valid tries, that means that you have something to look for (the reasons for the defeat) in your own performance.”
And the former second row recounts that he has rewatched this quarter-final several times: “Usually, I don’t do it. There, I saw him again at least six times. I needed to review things that were on my mind during the match. A coach must be lucid despite the environment. And my feelings on the video were the same as those at the stadium. (…) We lost two matches in 2023, against Ireland (32-19) in the Tournament and the one against South Africa, with two very close ends to the match. We missed the last ten minutes for things to change in our favor. It’s nothing.”
The future coach of Stade de Français Paris, from November 1 with Laurent Labit (in charge of the Blues attack), also explains that he regrets not having gone further in the competition, because he had prepared special moves. “Where I am frustrated is that I had planned to start number 9 (Antoine Dupont, Maxime Lucu or Baptiste Couilloud) if we had faced the All Blacks in the final because they do not defend in the air near the lines. We worked on it this summer. We could have done mauls with one more player with the hooker directly on the relay rather than on the throw. Otherwise, whatever I had in mind, I did it. So no, I have no regrets.”
