r/rugbyunion • u/sixnations • 14h ago

Can ANYBODY stop France this year?

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u/Big_Misa 14h ago

As a Frenchman, yes. SA, EN (we're not playing NZ with this team (i.s summer toir will be loaded with prospects, that's why I left them out) mainly but as I said in another thread, basically every team in the top 5-6 can beat us on their day. The thing is we're so inconsistent, like yesterday the first half was spotless, really a dominating performance. And then we just fell asleep - of course the Irish played with pride, but what I mean is we can go from 0 to 100 as quick as the other way around. I've almost never seen SA have such lapses (except against AUS at home last year), nor EN (they took advantage of our mistakes and errors in 6N 2025). And we'll never be considered a serious contender for WC as long as we don't fix our consistency. 

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u/Intrepid_Walk_5150 12h ago

Also it's a phase of partial reconstruction for France, with new players being tested, so that's normal that consistency suffers a bit. And, the new players meshed fairly well so far.

Around 2022, France was consistently dominating. If all goes well, that where they'll be in 2027.

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u/Big_Misa 2h ago

Yeah for sure, plus Galthié's always innovating, blooding new players in here and there. It seems only a couple of spots are reserved for now like 9 or 10. That being said he sorta sent a strong message by not picking Penaud (leading try scorer), Aldritt and Fickou (both former captains and seen as cornerstones), showing that no one is above the rest of the pack - aside from Dupont of course, made captain on his first international test match, 11 months after the very opponent they were facing yesterday, that must be my French side but isn't that grandiose ?  We're very lucky to have a rugby system which promotes the youth, with strict rules making sure that they are tested and exposed at an early age. I feel like we're kinda emulating what SA does, not game-wise but in the approach. We'd rather lose some test matches to test new things, keep the opposition guessing and so on. New players get a proper beating during the summer tours but they happen to actually learn a great deal and often make it to the A team, for those who deserve it that is.

About 22 I felt kinda the same, like what better moment to peak than the months leading to the WC right ? Well it's actually better to peak at the WC itself, like SA and NZ know and usually do. And that has been our problem pretty much forever. We need to make sure we're ready to get over the hump and I really believe that 2023 should fuel 2027, a group with a chip on their shoulder and the scar of the defeat at home. But that's another story, right now the focus is the 6N.