Despite the heavy defeat of the French team against Ireland in Marseille in the opening match of the Six Nations Tournament (17-38), coach Fabien Galthié’s tactical choices may not have been the bad ones.

As explained at a press conference this week, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Cameron Woki were placed on the bench as X-factors that were to make the difference at the end of the meeting.

Until then, Les Bleus wanted to catch Ireland and make a difference at the end of the game with players capable of making a difference.

However, with Paul Willemse’s red card, the plan fell into the water. The Irish were able to control the end of the game, and take the best on the mauls, where Willemse was missing.

Despite this, Les Bleus were still 7 points away from the Irish during the second half (10-17 then 17-24). The return of Posolo Tuilagi, at 15 against 15, could have allowed Grégory Alldritt’s teammates to take over physically, especially with a domineering scrum that was recovering penalties.

Finally, Les Bleus cracked and lacked mind and determination at the end of the game, tired by the red card.

Fabien Galthié explained that it was a « catastrophe scenario ». And there is truth in it.

So, even if the final score is heavy, the XV de France can still raise its head in Scotland and regain confidence, and above all, definitively turn the page on the 2023 World Cup.