Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - France v England - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - March 16, 2024 France coach Fabien Galthie with Gael Fickou before the match REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
(Reuters) - France's dramatic 33-31 victory over England in the final game of this season's Six Nations Championship went some way to dispelling last year's World Cup disappointment and ease the pressure on coach Fabien Galthie.
The side finished the championship in second place behind Ireland but had large slices of good fortune in what may still be viewed as a less than satisfactory response after their World Cup quarter-final exit on home soil.
A comprehensive 38-17 home defeat against Ireland was followed by a slender 20-16 win in Scotland, where the match officials denied the hosts what looked a good try at the death to hand France a victory they scarcely deserved.
Italy missed a penalty with the last kick of the game in a 13-13 draw in Lille before France's only convincing win of the campaign, a 45-24 success against Wales in Cardiff.
The absence of several key players, not least captain and scrumhalf Antoine Dupont after his switch to Sevens rugby ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris this year, forced Galthie to widen his pool of players. Though that may pay off in the long run, there will be some short-term pain to endure.
Also missing was Dupont's halfback partner Romain Ntamack, who has yet to recover from a serious knee injury.
Their replacements, Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert, were axed as Galthie reshuffled after the embarrassing draw against Italy.
Fullback Thomas Ramos took Jalibert's spot at flyhalf and scrumhalf Nolan Le Garrec started against Wales and England.
It clicked against Wales as France rediscovered their attacking mojo even if defence remained a weak spot.
Dupont's absence gave 21-year-old Le Garrec the chance to sharpen his knives and accumulate experience, though he does not expect a regular starting spot quite yet.
"There's only one Antoine Dupont in the world. We're lucky enough to have him in France; and whether it's with Rugby Sevens or rugby union, he excels," said Le Garrec.
"Antoine Dupont pulls us all up and, watching him, I want to put myself on his level, to show that I can also exist. It's an extra challenge, a little extra pressure, but it excites me more than anything else."
(Reporting by Julien Pretot and Nick Said; Editing by David Goodman)
