France rugby team Fiji Championnat des nations, Digi Mart USA News (Lyon, France): France’s rugby team enters the final stretch of its preparation for the Rugby World Cup, which opens in eleven months in Australia. Their first obstacle is Fiji, on Saturday at 9:10 p.m.
in Lyon.
The French side wants to keep its focus after returning to the country’s rugby heartland. Its current first place in the northern hemisphere standings of the Championship of Nations, following the matches played last July, is a symbol of that progress.
The winner of the competition will be celebrated at Twickenham during the last weekend of November.
Beyond the results, head coach Fabien Galthié is looking for his team to build up its strength in the eleven months before the World Cup. He is working to optimize the talent of his golden generation, even though several key players are unavailable, including Julien Marchand, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos.
“We remain in line with our preparation strategy. What is interesting is seeing the continuity with the French team from last summer.
But we also benefit from the return of important players,” Galthié said. He has admitted that he sometimes coaches “a team of survivors” because of the demanding pace of the Top 14 season.
Fiji remains a difficult opponent. In their only defeat to Fiji, a 21-14 loss at the Stade de France on November 27, 2018, captain Antoine Dupont, prop Jefferson Poirot and new defensive coach Geoffrey Doumayrou were all involved.
Dupont recalled, “We had strategically made mistakes,” adding, “You only need to look at the Fijian lineup to be concerned.”
France’s starting lineup features Attissogbe, Grandidier-Nkanang, Gourgues, Moefana and Bielle-Biarrey in the backs, with Ntamack and Dupont (captain) at half-back, and Boudehent, Cros and Woki in the back row. Guillard and Verhaeghe form the second row, with Falatea, Lamothe and Gros in the front row.
Replacements include Mauvaka, Poirot, Montagne, Ollivon, Staniforth, Capilla, Lucu and Gailleton.
Fiji’s players are known for their fast, unpredictable style of play, and France must first work its opponent physically, forcing Fiji to lower its guard before attacking. The team has little time to spare: after the November tests, the squad faces only the Six Nations and three summer preparation matches before the World Cup squad is finalized.
