The performance director of the XV of France Thibault Giroud praised Thursday “the state of mind” and “the involvement” of the 42 players summoned to Marcoussis to prepare for the World Cup (September 8-October 28).
“Honestly, I did not expect such a level of involvement,” explained Giroud before being asked about the colossal pillar of La Rochelle Uini Atonio (1.97m for 145kgs).
“Uini, we always asked ourselves the question, how we are going to be able to adapt it, how we are going to do to be able to take it to the end… In the end, he did not miss a single session. Everything he has in the bag, he gives it away every day. And it will still continue. There is not a single time when we wanted to adapt the training for him. These are questions we asked ourselves beforehand. But, honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised by his state of mind and what he produces,” added the technician at the end of Wednesday’s high-intensity training session, which was particularly complicated and which saw several players end up exhausted, starting with Atonio (33 years old, 50 caps).
“It’s a collective. The three-quarters ended a little earlier and you saw? They stayed around to support the forwards,” continued Giroud. “There is a spirit of competition between them but also a spirit of camaraderie which is super rare for a selection. They have been together for four and a half years and some went on vacation together last week. We are not a club but it shows the degree of involvement of everyone. These guys really became friends.”
The XV of France, which must face New Zealand at the opening of the World Cup, will face Scotland twice (August 5 in Edinburgh then a week later in Saint-Etienne) before challenging Fiji (August 19 in Nantes ) then Australia (27 August at the Stade de France).
After two weeks in Monaco, the Blues are gathered at the Marcoussis national rugby center until August 3.
