“I don’t consider myself an incumbent”

It was expected, Fabien Galthié confirmed it this Tuesday during his press conference in Aix-en-Provence. Louis Bielle Biarrey will start on the left wing of the French XV this Thursday against Namibia at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille (kick-off at 9 p.m.). Is this a promotion for the 20 year old? “I’m very happy to continue, Gabin (Villière, editor’s note) did 80 minutes twice but I don’t consider myself a holder though. » replied the UBB winger to the press because according to observers, this choice of the coach could well be akin to a move up the ranks, to the detriment of Toulonnais Gabien Villière.

“We all have the same objective, the 33 players who are there. I want to have the best match possible. If I have to become a starter, it will necessarily involve good matches on my part. (…) It’s certain that things are going very quickly for me, it’s better that I don’t realize it. I don’t ask myself any questions, I have a lot of fun playing. Of course others advise me in club and selection. But I manage to stay myself and it works quite well,” also admitted the youngest Frenchman in history to take part in a World Cup. A secret ambition which could well materialize if, like against Uruguay, he finds his way to the goal.

“Do things in order”

Present alongside Louis Bielle-Biarrey at a press conference, Thibaud Flament for his part assured that the Blues will rectify their situation after the disappointing match against Uruguay last week. “ We especially need to respond to the impression we left against Uruguay. We want to put on a clean performance and show what we can do. It’s not necessarily a question of a bonus objective, we mainly want to put in a successful performance and come out of the field having had fun. We want to do things in order. »

A point of view shared by Thomas Ramos. “ Above all, we want to have fun together, while respecting Namibia.. They took a lot of points in the first two matches, we also want to score some too but that will require respecting our game, being patient. It is not by throwing balloons everywhere that we will succeed in crossing them. We all want to progress with our offensive system, we have set ourselves the objective of being good on our attack,” detailed the full-back, on the same wavelength as his 2nd line.

“The best possible match in result and form”

Same story with Antoine Dupont. Beyond his desire to save time and refine his automatisms with Matthieu Jalibert, the captain of the XV of France highlighted the importance of management. And of course, the need to deliver a good match. “ Quite a few players were spared after the match against the All Blacks a fortnight ago and there are two weeks left before Italy and other upcoming deadlines I hope. It’s just putting our best team together as we often do depending on current fitness levels. We want to have the best possible match in terms of result and form. »