Six Nations Preview: France
Previous Form: WWWLW
Fixtures: v Italy, v Ireland, @Scotland, @Wales, v England
France Player of the Tournament: Greg Alldritt
One to Watch: Cameron Woki
Prediction: 2nd
Preview:
Les Bleus come into the competition as red hot favourites to win the 6 Nations for the first time since 2010. The French are favourites given their recent Autumn Internationals sweep including a historic win against the All Blacks. In addition to their form, they have the advantage of hosting both Ireland and England at the Stade de France, which might just give them the edge in two of the most crunch games of this year's Six Nations.
Fabien Galthie has named a phenomenal squad headlined by 2021 World Rugby player of the Year Antoine Dupont. The French wizard will no doubt play a key role in France’s campaign and look to add another accolade to his already illustrious career. Partnering him in the halves, Romain Ntamack has been given the full-reins to the side with Galthie omitting the in-form Jalibert and de facto given Romain the confidence to guide this side through this campaign. The fly-half has a host of potent outside backs to feed, but expect to see them create space for his running game which will cause defences an extra headache. The likes of Fickou, Vakatawa and Penaud, likely to feature outside the most potent halfback pairing offer a combination of skill, power and pace that will be extremely hard to defend. France's route to success is making sure that the aforementioned player gets as many attacking touches as possible, especially with front-foot ball where they can attack defences that are still setting and unable to take time off the ball of these great players.
Given this attacking threat, France will be targeted at the breakdown, but they do have top quality operators in the pack as well. The likes of Alldritt, Jelonch or Cros and Woki offer a deft combination of athleticism, ball-carrying and breakdown ability. Galthie has named 9 backrowers in his 42 man squad, a clear indication that he expects their physicality and availability throughout the tournament to be key to their success.
Shaun Edwards (France’s Defence coach) has had a massive hand to play in France’s 24-month revolution. Yes the French have blooded an incredible amount of young talent following two consecutive U20 RWC wins in 2018 & 2019, but the Welshman’s defensive detail has taken this side to a new level. The level of commitment, defensive cohesion, and communication displayed in France’s tour to Australia with a young side shone a light on Edwards’ work, and it culminated with the masterclass that was France’s victory against the All Blacks at the Stade de France.
The combination of attacking talent and defensive cohesion is what has everyone so high on France’s chances of winning their first Six Nations championship since 2010. Add to that the home advantage in key matchups, and France are looking like the toughest team to beat, some even booking them for a Grand Slam.
Predicted Depth Chart (Assuming all available):
Baille / Bibi Biziwu / Gros
Marchand / Mauvaka / Barlot
Atonio / Bamba / Haouas
Willemse / Flament
Taofifenua / Vanverberghe / Vergaeghe
Woki / Cretin / Diallo
Jelonch / Cros / Le Roux / Macalou
Alldritt / Tanga
Dupont / Lucu / Couilloud
Ntamack / Berdeu / Hastoy
Villiere / Lebel
Fickou / Danty / Moefana
Vakatawa / Vili
Penaud / Thomas / Favre
Dulin / Jaminet / Ramos