XV of France. “I’m not worried about Ntamak,” Giroud sweeps

The state of the troops after the Springboks

“It was very physical. However, this was the game with the shortest effective playing time since the 2019 World Cup quarter-final against Wales. We had 27 minutes of effective playing time. Internationally, the average is 37-38 minutes. We are very low. Later, he hit hard, there was a lot of combat… The combat data multiplied by two or three, that’s for sure. The players were given two days off. Surprisingly, we got some pretty fresh players. Today (Wednesday) the players went through training well. It was hard 24-48 hours after the game. But we try to get the players used to it in our training.

A week without Antoine Dupont

“The collective prevails over the individual. We know he is a big player for the France XV. But Antoine came on for a card, but he could get injured at any time and we have to do without him. He can be replaced by other players. We are preparing for it. We have top-level players who can help us fill such a gap. (…) It’s never good not to have it, but it’s valid for any player. It is not Antoine Dupont that makes France collective. It is better that it happens now than during the World Cup. It’s good to be able to adjust without our first choice in a collision.

Read alsoXV of France. In the absence of Dupont, Olivon will be the captain of the “Blues” in the game against Japan.

Operators must be chained

“If you’re on the November tour, that’s the only time you can put together three very high-level matches without a week off. What we don’t have during the tournament or summer tours. This is close to the World Cup finals: quarter, semi, final. It is important for us to see how we can adapt to this programming. And how can players adapt to three high-profile matches without resting. Even if we can believe that Japan is not a great nation on paper, we saw this summer that they will bring us battle, speed.”

A change in preparation?

“Rugby remains a bridge between tackling and running, we need to be ready in both areas. The Australians offered us the trip, the South Africans the fight, I think the Japanese, it will be a mix of the two. Like an artist, we have thirty colors, we cannot use only twenty colors and leave the others aside. We have to be ready for any scenario.”

No contact with Dunty during training

“On Wednesday, Jonathan maintained the intensity of the fight. It will also be Thursday, but this weekend will be fine. It hit him hard in the face. After the research, there was no suspicion of a fracture of the orbital floor. We put it back in the “game”. We tried to adapt, he didn’t go to the race on Monday, there was no contact. We will see his progress. But we will try to integrate the communication as late as possible.

Read alsoXV of France. No Danti fracture selected for Sunday’s match against Japan

Ntamack less determined

“It’s hard to say. It ticked all the boxes when it was made. We have no problem with him in the sports arena. Later on, the encounters become more and more difficult. The players are followed, especially our heel. We can’t always be high every game, all year, every day. I’m not worried about Romain. it will be good. We, in the performance field, if we had the slightest doubt about his athletic abilities after his return, we would have done it differently. But he ticked all the boxes.

Read alsoXV of France. these blues still have progress

Makalu’s big speech

“Seku, we know his qualities. He’s a guy who works 115 bars who runs 36 or 37. There aren’t many in the world of rugby who can play multiple positions. We have been waiting for a big performance from him for a long time, it was against the Springboks. It’s great for the team, it’s great for him.

Interview at Marcoussis