6 Nations Tournament: Irish slap, headache, open criticism… The French XV up against the wall in Scotland

Les Bleus se sont inclinés 17-38 face à l'Irlande lors de son premier match du Tournoi. MAXPPP – VALLAURI Nicolas

The French XV travels to Scotland this Saturday, February 10 for its second match of the 6 Nations Tournament, after a first humiliating setback against Ireland at home (17-38).

The XV of France, out of breath, puts its work back to work in Scotland, Saturday, less than a week after the humiliating shipwreck in the face of Ireland in the 2024 Six Nations Tournament.

Worrying start, porous defense, faulty touch, red card for Paul Willemse… Fabien Galthié's Blues came through in great strides in Marseille in front of the XV du Trèfle (37-18).

Here they are now condemned to a flawless performance and to keep their fingers crossed if they want to hope to win the 2024 Tournament, three months after the disappointment of the World Cup, which ended in the quarter-finals final against South Africa (29-28).

The trip to Murrayfield, hostile land for Galthié's Tricolores, comes at just the right time to restore the blue image a little.

Victory or nothing

A victory or nothing, therefore, in a complicated context where a third setback, which would constitute a first of the Galthié mandate, would be very bad and would plunge the XV of France into a crisis of a magnitude that ;he never experienced under the direction of the former Montpellier manager.

"When you enter a field, it's always to win. So I don't know if it's an obligation but it's a desire. We will inevitably be expected after our result against Ireland: it's up to us to be better and more serious on the pitch to win, tempered fullback Thomas Ramos.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Bien arrivés à 𝑬́𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒈.
🙏🚍 @RATPgroup
🙏✈️ @vueling #XVdeFrance #NeFaisonsXV #ECOFRA pic.twitter.com/12rzhX3C5d

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 8, 2024

Same story with third row François Cros, who criticized "the lack of commitment" of its partners at the Vélodrome stadium.

"It's a sector in which we need to pull ourselves together because, at the international level, when we endure so many tests, it's complicated to take it away", underlined the Toulouse resident.

The Blues in kilt or double

"We made the choice to take responsibility, to work together, not to let go of each other and to say to ourselves: 'we fell once but we must react now. And there's nothing better than traveling to Scotland to show a better face in terms of commitment", he said still assured.

To get back in the saddle, coach Fabien Galthié decided… to change almost nothing.

Only Racing 92 second row Cameron Woki and Bordeaux-Bègles winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey regain their place in the starting XV at the expense of Paul Willemse, suspended, and Yoram Moefana, replacement.< /p>

Change in continuity or stubbornness ? "Who says integrating new players, says removing players. This has not been the project since we worked on the team composition", explained Galthié.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇫🇷 Rendez-vous samedi 15h15 𝒂̀ 𝑴𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 ! 💪#ECOFRA #XVdeFrance #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/KqF7N5gVTW

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 8, 2024

"Our will is the group, it's the team, it's the solidarity. We performed well at times, as a group. We lost Friday night, as a group. The idea we have is to keep this framework and of course give space to young people in coaching", he said still assured.

The danger of an armed adversary

The Scots arrive with a knife between their teeth, buoyed by a narrow but historic success in Wales (27-26), their first in twenty-two years.

Always carried by the whimsical but calm Finn Russell, now a father and designated captain, the XV du Chardon intends to achieve a third success against Galthié's men in five confrontations and thus keep alive its own dreams of & #39;a first Grand Slam in the Tournament since the transition to six nations in 2000.