Rugby World Cup 2023 – Fabien Galthié justifies his choices: “It is not the strongest species that survive but those that adapt”

What pushed you to relaunch the “premium” players against Namibia?

Interesting question. We hear a lot of debate around team compositions. I will try to share the way we work, to be as clear as possible. We compose our teams by the week. The day after each match, we have a mechanism where everyone composes their team and I summarize based on their feelings. There is no long-term forecast in the choice of these compositions. We have a vision of preparation, that’s clear. We have a vision of rotations, we monitor playing times, we look at performances. And we work on emulation because we need everyone. We had an idea of ​​the lineup for the first match against the All Blacks and we fielded our best team at the moment. The match was won. A success for the whole group, not just those on the pitch. And then, we had a match six days later, with a trip to Lille. It was therefore clear that those who had faced the New Zealand needed to recover.

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The next day, we therefore chose to field another team, managing the potential. Finally, after the match at Lille against Uruguay, we had a seven-day week where we had the opportunity to put the players who had played against the Blacks back on the field. It’s a classic rotation. This team (which will face Namibia), with the exception of Grégory Alldritt who had a small scare, is the one we asked the day after the victory against Uruguay. But there is no change of direction. We adapt. It’s a bit like Darwin’s theory. It’s not the strongest species that survive, it’s the ones that adapt.

Can you give us any news about Grégory Alldritt who was expected to start the meeting?

During training yesterday (Monday), he felt a little discomfort in his knee. He was spared and we made the decision with Greg, that his schedule be adapted to be well looked after and return to 100% to play a next match with the XV of France.

What convinced you to align Louis Bielle-Biarrey rather than Gabin Villière?

His performances convinced us. His path, his journey with us makes him deserve to wear the jersey. It was really a player who entered the locker room and came to get the jersey. We need everyone. But Louis is there every time he goes out.

Is Gabin Villière demoted in the hierarchy?

Non, pay attention to vocabulary. Once again, there is healthy competition in the group, we need everyone. Everyone is important in the group of 33.

Cameron Woki is the only player to make a third consecutive start in the World Cup. For what ?

We still have rotations during a match. We are trying to ensure that Thibaud Flament shares the “left-handed” position with him, knowing that the latter can play on the right. Cameron still needs to find his bearings compared to last season (Editor’s note: he missed the 6 Nations Tournament due to injury). And then, he’s in good shape. He supports the workload, he is good. The different player profiles mean that some can play easily. This is his case.

How important is the return of Cyril Baille and Jonathan Danty ?

They are regular players in all battles with the XV of France, starters. They are very important players for the France team. Quite simply.