XV DE FRANCE – It is in the Landes, in Capbreton, that the XV of France has settled for a preparation course which will last a little less than two weeks and which should bring the Blues to the first match of the Tournament in Italy on February 5.
Since Sunday evening, the tricolor delegation has put down its suitcases in Capbreton and it is on the Landes coast that, until February 3, Antoine Dupont and his troop will prepare for the next big event that awaits them, namely the next Tournament of 6 Nations. “Compared to Marcoussis, in terms of temperature, it doesn’t change much, smiles Lyon winger Ethan Dumortier. Upstream, what you don’t see is that the entire staff has done a lot of work to put us in the best possible position. We are alone in the hotel (Le Baya, editor’s note), which is privatized. The Marcoussis weight room has been completely moved here. We have changing rooms, all the computers to work on the team’s strategy. In fact, we are almost like in Marcoussis and the objective is to discover something different, since there will be part of the preparation for the World Cup which will be done in Capbreton. Afterwards, you don’t necessarily have the impression of being in another place. Everything is organized for performance and for us to be in the best possible mood.”
The players of the XV of France during the training camp in Capbreton
From Monday, while Fabien Galthié and Antoine Dupont were in London for the press conference presenting the Tournament, the Blues met for various workshops. “The objective is to transform 42 players who come from different teams into one and the same group, into one and the same team, says the third row from La Rochelle Paul Boudehent. ‘yesterday.” Then, this Tuesday afternoon, the Tricolores carried out their first training session open to the press on the lawn of the Capbreton Sports Park.
Thirteen players, including Ntamack and Dupont spared
For 1h30, the Blues chained various workshops against the hopes of Olympic Biarritz who came as neighbors. The forwards worked in particular on the conquest and the contact phases, while the three-quarters worked on the offensive launches.
Several players, however, were exempt from sitting. Apart from Thomas Ramos and François Cros, all Toulouse residents (Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Anthony Jelonch, Thibaud Flament, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Melvyn Jaminet, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack) were spared. The last four cities were not present around the lawn of the municipal stadium.
The right pillar of La Rochelle Uini Atonio, the flanker of the French Stadium Sekou Macalou and the Montpellier residents Paul Willemse, Yacouba Camara and Bastien Chalureau were also at rest on Tuesday afternoon. “Absences, it disturbs, yes and no. We see it as an opportunity, admits Boudehent. We have to express ourselves, show what we are capable of, and for the elders it’s the opportunity to see new faces.”
Le Garrec and Dumortier with Fickou, Penaud, Ramos…
During the session, the Habs worked in two groups. It should be noted that in the team which included Matthieu Jalibert, Gaël Fickou, Damian Penaud or Thomas Ramos, Nolann Le Garrec officiated in the scrum while Ethan Dumortier took place on the left wing. Tomorrow, the first “high intensity” training of this camp will take place at 2 p.m. We should then see a little more clearly on the players who are most likely to start the Tournament on February 5 in Italy.
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