Wearing the jersey of the XV of France “is never acquired”, even when one is an indisputable part of it, estimated Thursday the third line Grégory Alldritt, double European champion in title, during the training camp of the Blues at the World Cup. 2023 in Monaco. “I don’t really like this definition of executive player,” said the captain of Stade Rochelais (26, 39 caps), adding that any of the 42 players called up by coach Fabien Galthié “must win their shirt (because) it is never acquired”. “We are 42, we are all on the same pedestal, we all have the same status: there are not 33 players (who will compete in the World Cup and whose names will be announced on August 21, editor’s note) from one side and 9 on the other,” he insisted.
“I really think so,” he said, recalling that in 2019, during the previous World Cup, “there were a lot of injuries and the final group (at the time) was far from look like the one everyone had expected. So, “a lot of things can happen,” he said, although, he added with a smile, “we’re not talking about injuries, it’s bad luck.”
After “many big matches, hard times, other strong”, periods “rich in emotions” and a Grand Slam won in 2022, “the group is better than four years ago”, has also assured the Gersois, which will participate in its second World Cup from September 8 to October 28. Compared to 2019, and the previous World Cup in Japan, the Blues are starting this preparation “with good confidence”, added the N.8: “we don’t see ourselves too beautiful but we know what we are capable of”. “We have full confidence in the staff, in the content they offer us, we know where we want to go and how to get there, so I think that’s the big difference above all,” he concluded.