At the end of Sunday’s victory over Australia (41-17), on the occasion of the fourth and last summer preparation match, the players of the XV of France had a few days to be able to breathe and decompress before the launch with great fanfare of the World Cup, September 8 (9:15 p.m.) against the All Blacks at the Stade de France. Even if they have to continue to train individually, closely monitored by their GPS connected to the tricolor staff. “We are going to cut a few days, rest and arrive fresh to do things in order,” explained third-line Charles Ollivon.
Meanwhile, Anthony Jelonch, who suffered a serious knee injury during the last Six Nations Tournament, is not idle. He had repeated, from the start of his recovery, that he would be ready in time to compete in the World Cup. This Tuesday, the third line with 25 selections participated in the training of his club, Stade Toulousain, in order to perfect his preparation.
A training that took place in the presence of William Servat, the assistant coach of the XV of France in charge of the forwards. Absent from the initial list of 42 players at the start of preparation in July, Jelonch had joined the Blues in Capbreton (Landes), the day of the announcement of the package of Romain Ntamack, his teammate at Stade Toulousain. Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the return of the Toulouse third-line, he should not be able, according to our information, to turn back the lawns before – at least – the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Manager Raphaël Ibanez, however, was reassuring about the return of the man who has asserted himself in recent seasons as a member of the France team. “We cannot be categorical but he is good, very very good. Anthony validated over the three days lived together everything that was expected of him, on the content which was still regulated, “said Ibanez in mid-August.
In the absence of Anthony Jelonch, François Cros, who had suffered a hamstring injury, finally played again (and shone) against Fiji then the Wallabies. At the same time, the Rochelais Paul Boudehent made a remarkable debut, chaining two tenures against the XV du Chardon which allowed him to win his ticket for the World Cup in France. He then came into play against Australia, replacing Grégory Alldritt (64th).