XV of France: “We have to put things in order”, says captain Charles Ollivon before playing Italy

The 3rd line regains its role as captain. MAXPPP – Alexis Sciard

"The heads are a little higher" within the XV of France, said its captain Charles Ollivon on Saturday on the eve of facing Italy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq with the ambition of " give yourself the right to dream" to final victory in the Six Nations Tournament.

Did the success in Scotland (20-16) reduce the pressure after the inaugural rout against Ireland (38-17)?

"The atmosphere is different, obviously, since we found each other again. We were able to produce a serious score (at Murrayfield), we gave a lot in this match. There is obviously more pride coming out of this than in the first match. The heads are a little higher.

It allowed us to get involved in preparing for this match against Italy in a slightly fresher way, with more energy, more desire perhaps. We are still in the race. We won in Scotland, that’s no small thing. The dynamic can be positive. It's up to us to be serious tomorrow (Sunday) to give ourselves the right to dream about the last two matches.

Do you think you can still win the Tournament ?

"The first thing after Ireland was to rediscover our pride, our rugby. Being able to look at yourself in the mirror a little more. We know the Six Nations Tournament, it's a very long competition. We know that all points count, it can be decided on the last day. Obviously it’s in the back of our minds. And to be in the match until the last day, we have no choice, we have to go through a big match this weekend.

Beyond the victory, can the reception of Italy, a more affordable opponent on paper, allow you to enjoy yourself offensively?

"We will first make sure we have the will to win the match. We looked at our previous matches against the Italians in the Tournament. Even though we had a good start, we had a little faltering in our game at certain times. They also had a big first match against the English. We need to put things in order.

There will obviously be a lot of fighting and without the fundamentals, we cannot hope to move forward. We will focus on doing simple things in the right way, by being disciplined and organized. There is also the 50th selection of two players (Cyril Baille and Romain Taofifenua), we have to perform well for them.

How do you feel about regaining the captaincy in the absence of Grégory Alldritt, injured ?

"Quite simply. We are several leaders, all with responsibilities in the team. It happened very naturally. There is a desire to do well, as usual, to guide the team, to move forward seriously with a lot of pleasure and enthusiasm. Greg (Alldritt) was also there this week, Gaël (Fickou), Julien (Marchand)…

We can name everyone. Everyone has their place, everyone has their role and we all move forward together, hand in hand.