Le Taupe XIV et la mégalomanie d'un secretaire d'état ripoux

[laurent]

Let’s mute torq for the game

[TheFrog]

Let’s mute torq for the game

[TheFrog]

Fickou was immense. Best game this season.

Our forwards need to work hard for England. Our maul was a big worry.

[Torquemada 1420]

Jelonch gone for the RWC possibly.

Haouas is a complete f**kwit and should never be selected again.

Ntamack was worse than useless today: even his tackling was crap as he waved Jones to the tryline just as he did Keenan for Ireland's first too. If he can't even be bothered to tackle, his adv over Jalibert is none. Basically gave the ball to Scotland after Haouas went off which is exactly what Scotland would have wanted. Again, Jalibert has to come on to put the game to bed.

[Torquemada 1420]

Fickou was immense. Best game this season.

Our forwards need to work hard for England. Our maul was a big worry.

They are knackered. Thank T14 for that. Look at how ineffective even Marchand was today. And still Galthie thinks hoofing the ball away and putting in 200 tackles a game is going to win a RWC?

[Marylandolorian]

Galthié’

Que vous inspire le carton rouge de Mohamed Haouas ?
J'ai envie de vous dire que le geste est une position défensive très dure à tenir. Quand on défend la ligne d'en-but, tous les avants en bascule avant pour dominer la collision. Ce qu'il a fait, sauf que le demi de mêlée s'est baissé aussi. On ne conteste pas le carton rouge. Mais la règle précise est-ce que le joueur a l'espace et le temps pour modifier la position ? Je considère que non. Il est tombé sur un joueur plus bas que lui et il l'a payé cher…

Son avenir en équipe de France est-il menacé ?
(Il soupire) On ne va parler que de ça ? J'ai envie de l'encourager, de le protéger, de l'aider. Il menait 19-0 contre l'Écosse. Il fait partie de l'équipe de France qui a battu l'Écosse avec le bonus offensif. Nous le protégerons…

Hoping that this thug will be in jail by September.

[TheFrog]

Jelonch ACL done. Shite news.

Cros back in. Who is the 6/8 player to stand in for Jelonch?

[sturginho]

Jelonch gone for the RWC possibly.

Haouas is a complete f**kwit and should never be selected again.

Ntamack was worse than useless today: even his tackling was crap as he waved Jones to the tryline just as he did Keenan for Ireland's first too. If he can't even be bothered to tackle, his adv over Jalibert is none. Basically gave the ball to Scotland after Haouas went off which is exactly what Scotland would have wanted. Again, Jalibert has to come on to put the game to bed.

I saw that Rugbypass had Ntamack in their team of the week and immediately thought of you

[Slick]

Fickou was immense. Best game this season.

Our forwards need to work hard for England. Our maul was a big worry.

They are knackered. Thank T14 for that. Look at how ineffective even Marchand was today. And still Galthie thinks hoofing the ball away and putting in 200 tackles a game is going to win a RWC?

Was quite surprised how tired your forwards looked early on. Jamie Richie was getting very annoyed at the ref allowing France to slow the game down.

[Torquemada 1420]

Fickou was immense. Best game this season.

Our forwards need to work hard for England. Our maul was a big worry.

They are knackered. Thank T14 for that. Look at how ineffective even Marchand was today. And still Galthie thinks hoofing the ball away and putting in 200 tackles a game is going to win a RWC?

Was quite surprised how tired your forwards looked early on. Jamie Richie was getting very annoyed at the ref allowing France to slow the game down.

See Marylandolorian's earlier post on the mental number of minutes some of them have already played. Alldritt is spent for a very simple reason.

[Torquemada 1420]

Bernol has gone to town on this saying a serious injury was inevitable with the stupid amount of game time in T14.

[Marylandolorian]

These reviews are right on the spot. Sadly, I think Moefana isn’t going to improve.

Romain Ntamack – 5,5 :
Le + : Décisif sur les deux premier essais des Bleus. D’abord à la conclusion (5e), puis à la passe pour Dumortier (10e). Il avait très bien débuté son match. Mais n’a pas forcément eu les éclairs qu’on peut lui connaitre.
Le – : Il s’est éteint au fil du match, chose qui lui arrive de plus en plus souvent au niveau international.
En bref : Il y a eu du bon et du moins bon mais on aimerait revoir le Romain Ntamack du début d’année 2022.

Yoram Moefana – 4,5 :
Le + : Ses deux plaquages cassés.
Le – : Trois plaquages manqués qui font tache et aucun mètre gagné ballon en mains.
En bref : Le moins bon des arrières bleus cet après-midi !

[Torquemada 1420]

These reviews are right on the spot. Sadly, I think Moefana isn’t going to improve.

Romain Ntamack – 5,5 :
Le + : Décisif sur les deux premier essais des Bleus. D’abord à la conclusion (5e), puis à la passe pour Dumortier (10e). Il avait très bien débuté son match. Mais n’a pas forcément eu les éclairs qu’on peut lui connaitre.
Le – : Il s’est éteint au fil du match, chose qui lui arrive de plus en plus souvent au niveau international.
En bref : Il y a eu du bon et du moins bon mais on aimerait revoir le Romain Ntamack du début d’année 2022.

Yoram Moefana – 4,5 :
Le + : Ses deux plaquages cassés.
Le – : Trois plaquages manqués qui font tache et aucun mètre gagné ballon en mains.
En bref : Le moins bon des arrières bleus cet après-midi !

And on Ntamack
a) Before he finished off the 1st try, he blew the overlap to the right by taking play back the wrong way so good job there was a score to cover up that blunder.
b) The drop goal.
c) His supposed forte, tackling: he waved Jones to the tryline in Garbajosa fashion just as he did to Keenan in the Ireland game. He also went half-hearted, too high for another Scotland try. In an ultimate of ironies. Jalibert put in a decent tackle to prevent Scotland breaking out from their far right near the end.
d) And I know this is from PR echoing my own repeated thoughts

The 10 berth battle has raged for four seasons now without conclusion and it’s clear that France are missing Jonathan Danty to the point of pain, but today a new question emerged; tactics under pressure.

Is Dupont so overloaded with work that perhaps he’s not thinking as clearly as he once did? It is yet again an illustration of the game management workload placed on Antoine Dupont and the lack of match management that comes from Ntamack.

Sorry Frog but I told you Moefana wasn't intl standard and even less so when playing outside Ntamack. Penaud and Dumortier are able to cause some trouble off sh*t, static ball. Fickou is there for his defence. Ramos has the luxury at FB of having acres to run into because he sees the ball more often from opposition than his own backline. Moefana is a luxury you can afford when on the front foot and playing with ball in hand.......... which doesn't happen when you play at home and only have 30% of the possession.

Only good thing to come out of this game is Falatea should be the starter now and both Lard-Arse and Criminal binned for good.

[Marylandolorian]

Bernol has gone to town on this saying a serious injury was inevitable with the stupid amount of game time in T14.

I think it was the same article in RR where Giroud said that if the WC was next year, he’ll be very worried about Antoine, I guess this is valid for most of the EDF guys.

As for Ntamak, Galthié won’t change his mind.

[Torquemada 1420]

Bernol has gone to town on this saying a serious injury was inevitable with the stupid amount of game time in T14.

I think it was the same article in RR where Giroud said that if the WC was next year, he’ll be very worried about Antoine, I guess this is valid for most of the EDF guys.

As for Ntamak, Galthié won’t change his mind.

No. He won't. Any more than Jones or Borthwich would over Farrell.

Galthie has no game plan beyond the bit he is not responsible for i.e. Edwards' fantastic defence. So Galthie simply wants France to play with no ball and hope oppos are all Finn Russell.

[TheFrog]

It's a shame none of you guys ever made it to a national manager career.

I agree with you (or the papers) on a few things though:

Our boys are spent. They don't have half the energy needed to beat a team like Ireland. Even Dupont looked short of his best form. Some of kicking was surprisingly average, though he still puts in a ton of work compared to any other player.

My view is that France took the lessons away from the Irish game and elected not to play from it's own half. Ultimately they prevailed which is not going to convince Galthie that more attacking rugby from everywhere on the pitch is the way to go.

I thought Scotland outkicked us. They were much better at pining us in our 22s and their superior maul helped them set up quality position. Thankfully, they are not as clinical as Ireland and we survived.

What is interesting is that, when we decided to go for the last try, we got it. I am wondering whether taking the 3pts when we did was the right call, given how efficient we had been at scoring our first two tries.

It is true that getting turnovers is increasingly difficult and we have to find an adjustment. Attacking everything doesn't work, kicking possession away if it is only to reset the game 40m from your line doesn't work either. And with a pack unable to get some serious go forward, we have to worry about the big games. What made us so successful was our ability to go over the gain line by a mix of sheer power and overloading an area close to the ruck before using space. It worked at time against Scotland but against bigger packs we are no longer that efficient.

That being said, we lost 1 game against the world best team, this is not the end of the world.

I remain doubtful whether having Jalibert start for Ntamack would make a huge difference. We would maybe play more creative but risky rugby. Would that be sufficient to beat Ireland? I don't think so if we don't get the forwards and kicking dominance we need.

Who would you pick instead of Moefana, in the absence of Danty? I don't know how much choice we have at center.

Maybe the major change you can make is to bring back Jaminet and his kicking power.

Will Atonio be back for England?

[Marylandolorian]

Just fuck off el frog, tell us where we/I did it, you are doing much worse than us with your displays of bravado.

[Torquemada 1420]

My bits in RED

It's a shame none of you guys ever made it to a national manager career.

I agree with you (or the papers) on a few things though:

Our boys are spent. They don't have half the energy needed to beat a team like Ireland. Even Dupont looked short of his best form. Some of kicking was surprisingly average, though he still puts in a ton of work compared to any other player.
Yes he is tired but as has been pointed out elsewhere, Ntamack's zero game management is heaping pressure on him too.

My view is that France took the lessons away from the Irish game and elected not to play from it's own half. Ultimately they prevailed which is not going to convince Galthie that more attacking rugby from everywhere on the pitch is the way to go.
Yes. Galthie has made it clear he has no game plan with ball in hand.

I thought Scotland outkicked us. They were much better at pining us in our 22s and their superior maul helped them set up quality position. Thankfully, they are not as clinical as Ireland and we survived.
Even with Flake's f**k ups, Ntamack offered nothing by way of comparison. IF your only game plan is hoof the ball, better get a FH who can do it right.

What is interesting is that, when we decided to go for the last try, we got it. I am wondering whether taking the 3pts when we did was the right call, given how efficient we had been at scoring our first two tries.
What is interesting is for 35 mins of the 2nd half, France offered no attacking threat.......... until Ntamack f**ked off and Jalibert came on. This is nothing new.

It is true that getting turnovers is increasingly difficult and we have to find an adjustment. Attacking everything doesn't work, kicking possession away if it is only to reset the game 40m from your line doesn't work either. And with a pack unable to get some serious go forward, we have to worry about the big games. What made us so successful was our ability to go over the gain line by a mix of sheer power and overloading an area close to the ruck before using space. It worked at time against Scotland but against bigger packs we are no longer that efficient.
There are reasons for this that I already pointed out
a) If your players are knackered, they will become less effective at all things. Dupont, Marchand and Alldritt have stopped turning over ball. Danty and Villiere are out.
b) If you then decide to knacker your players even further with a game "plan" that means they put in 200 tackles every game, then you are a friggin' idiot.
c) Guess what? Opponents adapt to teams with game plans that succeeded for them. Galthie has changed nothing since his tenure started. The decline is obvious and inevitable as Fra struggles to beat weak teams like Aus, Ita and Sco.


That being said, we lost 1 game against the world best team, this is not the end of the world.
See above. The decline is blatant.

I remain doubtful whether having Jalibert start for Ntamack would make a huge difference. We would maybe play more creative but risky rugby. Would that be sufficient to beat Ireland? I don't think so if we don't get the forwards and kicking dominance we need.
Hello Fabien. Is that you? Errrrrrr....... except EVERY time Jalibert has come on, he's bailed France and Ntamack's arses out.

Anyway, losing to the No1 ranked team is not what is most concerning: it's struggling to beat the likes of Aus, Ita and Sco.


Who would you pick instead of Moefana, in the absence of Danty? I don't know how much choice we have at center.
The problem, as EVERYONE including oppos have noticed, is with Ntamack doing f**k all, your only choice is a crash ball 12. The fix is obvious.

Maybe the major change you can make is to bring back Jaminet and his kicking power.
I'd turf out both Jaminet and Ramos from the starting 15, move Dumortier to FB, Villiere to his natural wing and Jalibert in at 10.

Will Atonio be back for England?
Sadly yes because Galthie is as stupid and arrogant as Jones.

[TheFrog]

How many attacks did France play from a set piece in Scotland 22s? As you are making comparisons, let's compare apples with apples.

France made the decision to kick for the points before these final penalties, and that decision, btw, was made by the captain.

France has traditionally left the management of the game to the scrum-half. It is in our culture. But suddenly it is Ntamack's fault...


N'Tamack isn't playing at his best, I agree, but the hate here is over the top in my opinion.


As for Galthie, he is a visionary:

https://www.lerugbynistere.fr/videos/vi ... 231027.php

[sturginho]

ATTN Les Francais:

https://www.onrugby.it/2023/03/01/sei-n ... -e-scozia/

Martin PAGE-RELO (Stade Toulousain, esordiente)

Who is this? forum.rugby.it has an entire thread dedicated to scouting potential poaches and I don't think I've ever seen his name come up...

[TheFrog]

ATTN Les Francais:

https://www.onrugby.it/2023/03/01/sei-n ... -e-scozia/

Martin PAGE-RELO (Stade Toulousain, esordiente)

Who is this? forum.rugby.it has an entire thread dedicated to scouting potential poaches and I don't think I've ever seen his name come up...

Toulouse will be pissed. They lost 6 players last week to injuries and now Page-Relo is called by Italy.

He is a decent Top14 player but hasn't particularly impressed ms the few times i saw him play. But it is hard to shine when you are behind Dupont.

[TheFrog]

Another thought for the Frenchies: i wonder to which extent teams are keeping their game plans secret for the world cup. Not sure any team is actually showing their true potential.

[Torquemada 1420]

Another thought for the Frenchies: i wonder to which extent teams are keeping their game plans secret for the world cup. Not sure any team is actually showing their true potential.

Not one I believe. Rugby these days is so over coached, if you haven't already baked in all your critical stuff by the time of a major comp. then it's likely to fail. It all has to be rehearsed at proper test level. It's only spoofers who are failing like Eddie Jones who claim to be keeping all their plans secret.

[Torquemada 1420]

How many attacks did France play from a set piece in Scotland 22s? As you are making comparisons, let's compare apples with apples.

France made the decision to kick for the points before these final penalties, and that decision, btw, was made by the captain.

France has traditionally left the management of the game to the scrum-half. It is in our culture. But suddenly it is Ntamack's fault...


N'Tamack isn't playing at his best, I agree, but the hate here is over the top in my opinion.


As for Galthie, he is a visionary:

https://www.lerugbynistere.fr/videos/vi ... 231027.php

On your first point, if your argument is that the failings primarily lie with Dupont, world player of the year, come out and say so. I'm happy to entertain that debate but I suspect you'll be fighting that corner alone.

Pffft. If it was that simple to execute a move to score a try when it had become desperately needed, why not play like that beforehand and put the game to bed?

Ntamack isn't even in the top 5 FHs in France on current form. Does this anger me? Yes. Because it's so typically French to select based on club bias and or nepotism. If his name was not Ntamack or he played for Brive, you reckon he'd have even got a cap?

[TheFrog]

On my first point i am not blaming Dupont for anything. I am just saying that never in the second half before these final 10 minutes did we opt to kick for touch when we had a penalty in a position that would have allowed us to go for the line, but instead we chose to take the 3pts. And I am highlighting that, therefore, it is unfair to credit the last try on Jalibert and say thsf Ntamack didn't create any when N'tamack was never in a position to receive the ball from a lineout 5m from the line in the second half.

I am not blaming a particular player for the less impressive French performances, I believe the issue is that of a collective that is tired and less sharp. Sure you could marginally improve things by finding a better fly-half or inside center. But that won't suddenly change France.

Earlier in the game, the focus was on securing victory, getting points at each opportunity and playing safer. In the last 10 minutes, the focus was suddenly on trying to make the most form the Scottish gift of possession and try to get the 4th try that we did not seek earlier. Different moments, different focuses.

It is the first time that France has a stable pair of half-backs who play in the same club. We have been complaining about the continuous swapping of half back pairs. Now we want Nfamack out before the world cup.

And yes, I believe Ntamack would have played even if his name was Dupont. Or any other average French name. Clue: does his brother play for France? Does Roumat play for France? Does Retiere play for France? And so on...

[TheFrog]

One reason Ireland are unstoppable and Scotland do so well. And btw, not Ntamack's fault either.

[TheFrog]

That is interesting too. We are on a par with England on this. Less entries into opposition 22s than Ireland or Scotland, and lower conversion rate than Ireland.

I am concerned about maul going up against England.

[TheFrog]

Interesting that Ireland is not exploiting the wide channel more. Their ability to have quick ball at the ruck and hit in zone 0 and 1 G pace allows them to move forward without taking risks out wide. Scotland, on the other hand, are looking for width to strike.

[TheFrog]

That one is the most telling.

Ireland kicked more than France, were better at exiting their 22s. Our kicking game isn't as outstanding as it was - and here, maybe, another fly-half than Ntamack could help.

The ruck speed again is telling and that is key for me as this is what allows a team to break the opposition defensive organisation.

We see that France chose not to commit players at the tackle but chose to defend instead.

[TheFrog]

These stats show that individual brilliance (defenders beaten) is not enough.

[LenCohen]

See Torq has temporarily mothballed his Russell shtick and is really leaning into the Ntamack hatred

[Torquemada 1420]

On my first point i am not blaming Dupont for anything. I am just saying that never in the second half before these final 10 minutes did we opt to kick for touch when we had a penalty in a position that would have allowed us to go for the line, but instead we chose to take the 3pts. And I am highlighting that, therefore, it is unfair to credit the last try on Jalibert and say thsf Ntamack didn't create any when N'tamack was never in a position to receive the ball from a lineout 5m from the line in the second half.

I am not blaming a particular player for the less impressive French performances, I believe the issue is that of a collective that is tired and less sharp. Sure you could marginally improve things by finding a better fly-half or inside center. But that won't suddenly change France.

Earlier in the game, the focus was on securing victory, getting points at each opportunity and playing safer. In the last 10 minutes, the focus was suddenly on trying to make the most form the Scottish gift of possession and try to get the 4th try that we did not seek earlier. Different moments, different focuses.

It is the first time that France has a stable pair of half-backs who play in the same club. We have been complaining about the continuous swapping of half back pairs. Now we want Nfamack out before the world cup.

And yes, I believe Ntamack would have played even if his name was Dupont. Or any other average French name. Clue: does his brother play for France? Does Roumat play for France? Does Retiere play for France? And so on...

No arguments that T14 is going to be the thing that will do most to kill France's chances at the RWC.

I do disagree that changing the tactics to keeping the ball and playing with it won't change France. It is significantly less tiring to attack than to defend AND France has serious firepower in the backs that is being criminally wasted. And you can't do that with Ntamack any more than Eng can't look more than aimless sh*t with Farrell (and Farrell is an infinitely better, tactical kicking FH than Ntamack will ever be). Basically, Galthie is trying to replicate a Anglo game plan that is already 5 years past its sell by date. I'm not saying that this will be good enough to bear Ire or SA now but the current tactics is a sure loss: the win over SA only happened because DuTw*t was a tw*t and because Jalibert saved their arses.

I think you are reading the games the wrong way but it doesn't matter because the tactic is not working. The games are going to the wire regardless of what lead is built up and so the sit back and defend the lead approach is failing.

Stable bad is still bad.

None of those players you mention other than Retiere are established 1st teamers. Like it or not, too many players have racked up intl caps for France simply because they played for Toulouse. Poitrefaux, Do-sans and Maestri being perfect examples.

[Torquemada 1420]

Watching CO v LOU and LOU look like 15 players who've never met one another. Another example of ex players making dreadful coaches. Meantime, CO, who are not Fre coached, are desperately limited but at least playing to a game plan.

[TheFrog]

I think I know why Galthie sticks with Ntamack. Jalibert is made of crystal and breaks all the time. He may as well give as much game time to Ntamack as he can.

[TheFrog]

Something to watch before tomorrow's game.

A warning for Torque. There are positive words about Ntamack and Russell and about the way France are coached.

[TheFrog]

Midol flagging that data don't support Danty's selection. He is not back at his best and lacks pace. But this is hardly surprising given his injury, the extraordinary speed of his recovery and his lack of game time. Just hope it doesn't backfire. On him first, and on the team second.

[Torquemada 1420]

That is interesting too. We are on a par with England on this. Less entries into opposition 22s than Ireland or Scotland, and lower conversion rate than Ireland.

I am concerned about maul going up against England.

Kick the ball away in good positions and guess what?

[Torquemada 1420]

Midol flagging that data don't support Danty's selection. He is not back at his best and lacks pace. But this is hardly surprising given his injury, the extraordinary speed of his recovery and his lack of game time. Just hope it doesn't backfire. On him first, and on the team second.

I think it's a huge risk but
a) With Ntamack at 10, no Danty at centre means no Fra attacking threat wide.
b) Moefana is questionable at int level period but is a zero option if your FH means your only go fwd outside 9 is crash ball in the centre.

Eng would be doing Fra a favour if Smith runs rings around Ntamack.

[Torquemada 1420]

Said on the 6N thread, I've waited 50+ years for a Fre performance when it was Eng who made all the basic mistakes. The difference being Fra forced them upon Eng. Maybe the most staggering thing is where the f**k the players got the energy from. The real Alldritt and Ollivon stood up and boy, did it show. This, from one week off. Imagine what could happen if players were properly rested?

Anyway, sometimes you are right and sometime you are wrong.

WRONG
Flament. When he was called up 2 years ago, I thought he was too lightweight for an intl lock without enough strength and pace to make up for it by being an Ali Williams. But yesterday he showed strength, pace and brains to go with his handling. So good was he that we barely noticed another quiet show from Willemse. Maybe its Edwards' condition work? Anyway, with Woki still looking half the player he was, this version of Flament needs to stay.

Ramos. Remember I am unconvinced by either he or Jaminet at FB, but because Ntamack can't kick points, one has to start. I was on the side of Jaminet because he is the more consistent kicker. I think we'll still see the periodic meltdown from Ramos like against Ire but just better hope it isn't against them in a RWC final. Yesterday we saw the good Ramos: the one who used the pace and leg strength he has to make good decisions in attack, rather than running up blind alleys. I do think there was a reason for that, which I will come to but I think he'd done enough to win the debate over Jaminet.

RIGHT
Cros. As sad as Jelonch's injury is when he finally started to look like the player he promised at CO, he wasn't missed because Cros is at least as good. Cros may not be quite as physical in the carry but with Alldritt's carrying and Ollivons incredible strike rate (almost 1 try in every 2 tests), Cros's mobility and breakdown work actually might make the backrow better balanced.

Danty. Keep saying with Ntamack crippling the backline, a functioning Danty is essential because he's the only way to create go forward out wide (plus he's another turnover expert like Villiere). And that was the single most defining factor yesterday. Ntamack did (or didn't) do what he always does: mostly aimless kicks but Danty's destruction finally allowed the likes of Penaud, Dumortier and Ramos to see some useful ball. With Jalibert broken again, it looks like Ntamack is there forever so better start praying Danty does not get injured.

[TheFrog]

So a good flyhald by your book, Torque, is one that breaks the line.

Ntamack made two terrible calls for me, when he chose poorly tjmed grubers. I wasn't sure if there was an issue with an announcement that didn't reach the winger or the center the Gruver was intended for, or whether it was brainfarts.

Other than that, he had a good game and his kicking, particularly early in the first half completely disorganized the English deep defense. It was deliberate tactics to relieve Dupont from this kicking duty, but the length and the execution were there for Ntamack.

Galthie's decision to pull Aldritt out against Scotland plus to fjve the team a one week break paid off. We had a more energized team on the pitch. Makes me wonder whether they did not do some heavy physical conditioning before Scotland, with a view to have a second peak against England.


Flament was grand, but I am not surprised. He has grown from strength to strength and indeed, on this form, Woki is never walking back into the starting XV.

The whole backrow were superb, Aldritt back to his best and Cros outstanding. We are back to the early backrow that was considered the most balanced for France.

Dupont had a huge game again.

Danty showed his value. I can't imagine how good he will be when back to 100%?

Fickou was excellent again, and so was Ramos.


But let's not get carried away. There is much less between France and England that the score would have us believe. English heads dropped, but the beginning of the second half reminded us what a fit team, playing with tempo can do to our defense. When the English fullback scored, England had a 4 od 5 against 2 overlap. And Ireland are showing that they are in total control despite injuries.