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France are odds-on favourites to win the Six Nations on Saturday - AP/Peter Morrison
In the 1980s, as Les Bleus claimed two Grand Slams and another four championship titles (two of which were tied), you very much knew which France would turn up.
In the 1990s, despite England’s three Five Nations Grand Slams, you sort of did, too, as France claimed a trio of titles of their own, reached a World Cup final – admittedly in staggering semi-final circumstances against New Zealand – and also scored one of the most dashing tries that Twickenham has seen.
But, whether because of history, culture or anthropology, that cliché of not knowing which French side would turn up persisted. The 2000s were fairly similar to the 90s – two Grand Slams – but then from 2011 onwards, after another Grand Slam in 2010, something curious happened: the cliché was sent to the guillotine. Everyone knew exactly which France would turn up, but not for the usual reasons.
Between 2011 and 2019, France were a rabble, hitting their nadir in 2013 by claiming their first and only wooden spoon of the Six Nations era. When Fabien Gatlhié took over as head coach after the 2019 World Cup, he vowed not only to take advantage of a golden generation of French players – spearheaded by Antoine Dupont, Grégory Alldritt, Romain Ntamack and Thomas Ramos – but also to consign that enduring platitude to its grave.
Galthié instilled some Anglo-Saxon blood into the coaching staff, in the form of Shaun Edwards, to help in that regard. And, for a time, it was all going swimmingly. Les Bleus clinched their first Grand Slam in 12 years in 2022 and entered their own World Cup as favourites having defeated both South Africa and New Zealand in the tournament’s preceding 12 months. But then the hosts were dumped out of their own showpiece by the Springboks and, at the first chance to exorcise the World Cup demons, were defeated by Ireland in a rocking Marseille in the first match of the 2024 Six Nations.
There were coaching changes, but by and large France’s players were the same – and thriving on the domestic stage – but, without Dupont, Les Bleus lost to the Irish, drew with Italy in Lille, and really should have been defeated by England in Lyon. The talent was there but the consistency and composure was lacking.
As France look set to lift a second Six Nations title under Galthié in Paris this weekend – realistically, victory of any kind against Scotland will be enough – there are faint echoes of not knowing which French side will turn up. The way that they put Ireland to the sword in Dublin was petrifying in terms of both endeavour and efficiency. But France butchered try opportunity after try opportunity in a narrow loss to England at Twickenham which, in hindsight, looks set to cost Les Bleus a Grand Slam.
France are huge favourites against Scotland but that Twickenham meltdown, albeit in the face of a ferocious English effort, means that that cliché is rearing its ugly head with slightly more regularity than it previously had under Galthié.
For those who believe that Gregor Townsend’s side have no chance in Paris on Saturday night, imagine for a second that Scotland had to travel to Dublin to thwart an Irish title tilt. Most observers would rate Scotland’s chances at nil yet, this weekend, there are those who believe.
‘The English always find fault with France’
But Thomas Castaignède, the former Saracens back who won 54 caps for France between 1995 and 2007, is fed up with cliché. Castaignède believes that all the other sides are now weaker than France and, actually, it was an excellent English performance at Twickenham, coupled with French errors, which has scuppered the Grand Slam dream.
“When I go skiing, there are always loads of English people – even if they aren’t renowned for their skiing prowess,” Castaignède tells Telegraph Sport from his home in Biarritz. “They spend a lot of time in the bars and restaurants at the side of the pistes. A group of English people came up to me and they said: ‘Yes, but the French mentality... you never know which France will turn up.’
“That struck me because it’s always the same thing. In England, even if people actually quite like the French, they always try to find fault!
“Mentally, this France team is very strong and actually it’s the other sides who are weak. England beat France, of course, but I think the French would win that nine times out of 10 – it just happened to be the one, at Twickenham. That’s not to say that the victory wasn’t deserved – they played positively, scored the winning try, and did good things during the game – but France wasted so many easy opportunities for tries that were practically a given. Mentally, I think France are strong and I think they have actually proven that. That’s something which has changed.
“Historically, we might have had a bit of an inferiority complex. We were sure in our rugby but maybe less sure in our organisation. Today, we have both, and we are strong individually and collectively. We have intelligence, power... almost everything.
“Fabien has brought a lot but he has inherited an exceptional generation. Had Warren Gatland been France coach, they would have also been pretty good. Different coaches can change things a bit but when you have a squad like that... we have three French teams which could be competitive. I really think that France are the best team in the world right now.”
‘We don’t have the same mindset as the Anglo-Saxons’
Dimitri Yachvili, who won 61 caps for France at scrum-half between 2002 and 2012, agrees with his countryman. Ahead of this Saturday, there is a confidence to France; those inconsistent days are gone.
“‘Mental fragility’ after beating Ireland by 40 points in Dublin? Funny,” Yachvili said. “We’ll never know, had we won at Twickenham, would we have beaten Ireland after that?
“We are Latin. We don’t have the same mindset as the Anglo-Saxons. At Twickenham, I think there was less fear throughout the team; not like how they fear Ireland. When I speak of fear, I mean ‘good fear’, which allows you to raise your game and go further into your energy reserves. There was this feeling that everyone was against us. It forms a part of the Latin profile.
“We respect the Scottish. We don’t think we’ll beat them by 40 points. Everyone said after Dublin that we need to put the same performance in against Scotland if we are going to win the title, at the Stade de France, at primetime, 9pm kick-off local. But everyone expects France to win the title; we have only won one under Galthié, in 2021, so everyone is looking forward to Saturday night. We are confident, concentrated, but we respect the Scottish team. The confidence came back with the victory in Dublin.”
‘You have to break France’s rhythm’
Pierre Berbizier, the former scrum-half who also coached France between 1991 and 1995 as well as Italy between 2005 and 2007 agrees with Yachvili. There is a renewed confidence to France; however, in two of their high-profile losses since 2023 – against South Africa in the World Cup and England last month – Berbizier is concerned that a similar blueprint was used to thwart Les Bleus.
“There was a reaction in Ireland from the French team,” Berbizier, who won 56 caps for France between 1981 and 1991, tells Telegraph Sport. “But it has been a bizarre tournament this year. There have been good and bad performances from all teams. Logic has often been in short supply. Logic would say that this French side will dominate Scotland but the Scottish have shown us that they can make a mess of things. These long sequences of play – which we saw against Ireland – that plays into France’s hand. If you don’t mix up your attacking game and kick as well as play and don’t make France go backwards, they’re going to really enjoy themselves. Ireland found that out. France wanted to play off counter-attack and unstructured defence and the Irish gave them that. You have to break France’s rhythm; of their defence as much as anything.
“When you watch the loss to England and also to South Africa, there are similarities. The middle of the pitch was lost, the scrum struggled, and France wasted a few chances to score. It was almost like we were reliving the same match. France, whether starting or on the bench, have quality players, but doubts are not far away.”
This Saturday night, against Scotland, they have a chance to put those doubts to bed.
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