{"id":267061,"date":"2025-11-06T18:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/267061\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T18:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:21:09","slug":"ntamack-and-france-aim-to-rid-themselves-of-trauma-from-world-cup-defeat-france-rugby-union-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/267061\/","title":{"rendered":"Ntamack and France aim to rid themselves of \u2018trauma\u2019 from World Cup defeat | France rugby union team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Romain Ntamack was not on the pitch when Les Bleus last met South Africa just over two years ago, having been denied a starring role at the home World Cup by a knee ligament injury the previous summer. The Toulouse fly-half was nevertheless as affected as anyone by the one-point quarter-final defeat by the Springboks<\/a>, which brought France\u2019s ambitions to an abrupt and sobering end.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trauma from that match went beyond the 23 players who were on the team sheet,\u201d the 26-year-old said before this weekend\u2019s rematch, which kicks off the autumn campaign for both sides. \u201cWe\u2019ve moved on since then, though, and we\u2019re fully focused on Saturday\u2019s match.\u201d<\/p>\n

After an underwhelming summer campaign in New Zealand which yielded three defeats in as many tests, France also have a more immediate point to prove. \u201cWe\u2019re playing against the double world champions, so it\u2019ll be a big challenge whatever happens,\u201d Ntamack added. \u201cNever mind the final result, we have to use this match to help us progress and gain experience as a team on our journey to the [2027] World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time, it\u2019s Antoine Dupont who will be the glaring absentee for Les Bleus, as the scrum-half recovers from a knee ligament rupture of his own which he sustained against Ireland in March. That has not stopped the Olympic champion from joining his international teammates in training this week, as he eyes a return to match fitness by the end of the calendar year. A contract extension with Toulouse until 2031, which he signed in front of the unexpecting Rouge et noir fans at last week\u2019s match against Stade Fran\u00e7ais, has in any case secured his long-term future close to the France setup.<\/p>\n

In Dupont\u2019s absence, the quasi-centurion Ga\u00ebl Fickou will be captaining the team over the next few weeks. The 31-year-old, who was also captain during this summer\u2019s series in New Zealand, was next in line after Fabien Galthi\u00e9 dropped the usual stand-in Gr\u00e9gory Alldritt from the squad altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s seen it all with the French team, through the highs and the lows\u201d, Nolann Le Garrec said of Fickou this week, inadvertently confirming the captaincy would go to his former club teammate before the team was announced on Thursday morning. \u201cIt\u2019s great that he can have the opportunity to captain the team. He did it this summer in New Zealand around a young team and now he can do so with more leaders by his side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ga\u00ebl Fickou runs at Fletcher Newell during the Test match between New Zealand and France earlier in the summer. Photograph: Peter Meecham\/Photosport\/AP<\/p>\n

Midway through his second World Cup cycle, Galthi\u00e9 has tried to build around the mainstays of his time in charge so far, rather than opting for a complete upheaval. Six of France\u2019s starters in the 2023 quarter-final defeat will be involved this weekend, a figure which would be higher were it not for the injury absences of Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, and Dupont.<\/p>\n

While 10 of the 42 initially called up a few weeks ago were uncapped, the team Galthi\u00e9 announced on Thursday looks more familiar. Only two of this summer\u2019s newcomers, the props R\u00e9gis Montagne and Baptiste Erdocio, have held on to their spots from the New Zealand tour. \u201cWe have an average of around 30 caps across the team,\u201d the head coach said to Sud Ouest last month. \u201cWe\u2019re not starting from zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former scrum-half also said that both occasions he has faced South Africa as head coach were close-run affairs, alluding to the 30-26 win in Marseille in 2022. \u201cMaybe it would be better to beat them in a hypothetical match in two years\u2019 time, rather than the one coming up,\u201d he quipped. \u201cThat\u2019s not the objective, though. We\u2019re unbeaten in three autumn series, and our ambition is to continue to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Romain Ntamack feels \u2018freer and happier\u2019 ahead of France\u2019s Test match against New Zealand, having yet to play while fully fit \u2018in a while\u2019. Photograph: Christophe Ena\/AP<\/p>\n

While Galthi\u00e9 was adamant two years ago that he had picked the right setup to bring down the Springboks, there is a sense that Les Bleus are addressing the shortcomings that precipitated the defeat. In particular, capturing high balls was the focus of Wednesday\u2019s training session, with the team hoping to turn kicking phases in their favour. \u201cIt\u2019s a real weapon for us,\u201d said Ntamack. \u201cIt\u2019s an area of the game we can\u2019t ignore, we need to be able to put the pressure on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Le Garrec, who replaces Dupont in the starting XV, will be facing the Springboks for the first time in his international career. \u201cThey\u2019re crafty, they\u2019re capable of coming up with unexpected things,\u201d was his assessment, while also highlighting that his former teammate Siya Kolisi will have a point to prove on his return to Paris after an unceremonious exit from Racing 92.<\/p>\n

While the Six Nations champions have played down the mental significance of a rematch of 2023, there\u2019s no escaping the fact that this will be the major test of the wider progress made since then. Ntamack, in any case, is optimistic: \u201cI haven\u2019t had the chance to play in the autumn internationals at full fitness in a while. I feel freer and happier, and I hope that will show.\u201d<\/p>\n

A win in Paris on Saturday may be the final step to overcoming the \u201ctrauma\u201d of the World Cup defeat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Romain Ntamack was not on the pitch when Les Bleus last met South Africa just over two years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-267061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}