Opinion: ‘Truly frightening’ France have the Six Nations title ‘at their mercy’
From left to right: Fabien Galthie, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack
When you scan your nose over the Six Nations table heading into the 25th edition, you almost feel the title is a process of elimination.
Question marks loom over Ireland with Simon Easterby taking the reins from Andy Farrell this year. England, for all their progress in the past year, have developed this inability to close out games and seem to have almost forgotten how to beat Tier One nations.
Scotland are in the conversation, but they have been almost every year since 2021. Italy should be improved but not title contenders; and Wales are, well, Wales.
So, that just leaves France left standing, and even with their injury crisis they still come into the Championship as heavy title favourites. It?has?to be their year, right?
Strength in depth
Again, injuries are rife in the French squad right now, but even without the likes of Gael Fickou, Thibaud Flament, Damian Penaud,?Jonathan Danty and Charles Ollivon they have put out a truly frightening team for their opener against Wales.
This just shows the depth of talent available to Fabien Galthie, who has a genuinely golden generation at his disposal, and it should leave everyone worried ahead of the Six Nations.
The players mentioned above would simply walk into the starting squad when fit, but yet when you look at the team they have deployed for Friday’s clash at the Stade de France then you actually begin to think where they even go.
In midfield, Yoram Moefana and?Pierre-Louis Barassi come into the Championship in fantastic form, and this combination will add a completely fresh dynamic to the squad.
Theo Attissogbe, just 20, has been thrown into the deep end this weekend for superstar winger Penaud, but he is by no means a second-rate replacement considering he beat out the impressive Gabin Villiere. 12 months ago he was just a promising player pushing through the ranks, but now he could very easily become a mainstay in the French 23.
Looking away from the injuries, the squad is just loaded with absolute gamebreakers.
Romain Ntamack is back in the picture, and he will add serious venom to the backline as a result. Whilst his injury issues have changed his game slightly, it has made him no less classy in his play and he has really stepped up his playmaking abilities.
Antoine Dupont, the best player in the world, is also back in the Six Nations picture and should cure the hangover from their lacklustre 2024 campaign.
But, in their returns, you get the reformation of the telepathic axis of Dupont, Ntamack and Thomas Ramos which has worked so well for both club and country in the past few years.
With all of the quality from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Moefana and even the likes of Emmanuel Meafou and Gregory Alldritt, this spine will be at the beating heart of everything France do and it should get them playing that frighteningly good rugby we saw the last time they won the Grand Slam.
Every time they touch the ball, they just find new ways to astound us. Be it Dupont’s sensational offloading, or Ntamack’s passing from the gods to send someone in for a try or Ramos’ devastating kicking game, they just work so beautifully in tandem and should help push France over the line.
Even around this too, the aforementioned stars Bielle-Biarrey, Meafou, Alldritt and even Francois Cros are also set to have a huge campaign.
Around this too, the sheer depth on the bench and even outside the squad should keep the starters playing at their very best. You know your team is absolutely brilliant when Nolann le Garrec, Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille and Emilien Gailleton are on your bench and even?Nicolas Depoortere,?Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert, Rabah Slimani and?Esteban Abadie are left watching from the stands.
Favourable fixture list
France are, and have always been, the definition of a momentum team, and the fixture list this Six Nations should give them momentum right from the off.
A Friday night game at the Stade de France always brings the best out of France anyways, but caveat that with the fact it is the Six Nations curtain raiser and it’s against a Wales side who lost every Test last season, then it bodes for a serious statement win.
Then, they head to the Allianz Stadium to face England – a venue they’ve had success in recent years. You feel, again with England’s inability to close out games, that France should win this too.
In round three, they then welcome Italy to Paris. This proved a tough assignment last year, with only the width of a post saving them from defeat, but with the momentum built from the previous two games and fuelled by desire to show their true quality it could be another resounding win.
The big game, and the one that will likely define the outcome of the Six Nations, is up next as they face Ireland in Dublin. Once again, though, France always perform best when they have momentum behind them and they should have that in bagfuls after three wins.
Rounding off their campaign, they take on Scotland. Again, Gregor Townsend has been able to unpick France in recent years, but a packed out Stade de France on the final day of the Six Nations, with the title on the line, should galvanise them to another win.
The title is at France’s mercy, and it just?has?to be their year, right?
French club form
Yes, this is looking at the Test team, but the form of the French club sides cannot be overlooked.
Toulouse and Bordeaux have simply blown everyone away in the Champions Cup and are looking to pull away in the Top 14 too. Around this, Toulon and Bayonne have greatly improved this year and even Clermont Auvergne and La Rochelle are still in the mix on both fronts.
This just shows the French players will all be brimming with confidence heading into the Six Nations, which just fuels that sense of momentum powering the squad towards the Grand Slam.