Galthie: Les Bleus in mood
In short, Galthie has high hopes for France to beat England in Sunday's semi-final because, when Les Bleus are in this mood, there are few who can stop them.
The 34-year-old scrum-half, who will once again forge his creative partnership with star fly-half Frederic Michalak, has been playing Test rugby for 12 years.
He has experienced the highs and the lows for France, ranging from the sensational semi-final victory over New Zealand in 1999, to the toothless display against Australia a week later.
In 2002, Galthie was the lynchpin in France's Grand Slam-winning side. This year he was injured two games into the campaign and they finished third.
Their summer tour appeared to be nothing less than a disaster as France lost twice to Argentina and were beaten by New Zealand.
Worse was to come in two warm-up matches with England, as they could only beat the B selection by just one point before being over-run 45-14 at Twickenham a week later. Yet, here they are, preparing for a World Cup semi-final and, in many quarters, favoured by many to turn England over.
"The French team is like the weather," said Galthie today.
"Sometimes the weather is good and sunny. Sometimes the weather is bad and raining. Sometimes it is raining on our team but at the moment it is sunny. I hope the forecast for Sunday is not too windy and it stays sunny.
"We are happy to be here, we want to do the best. We don't speak about pressure. We want to play our best rugby and for us that is the most important objective."
France have developed something of a habit of one sensational performance each World Cup, the semi-finals in 1987 and 1999 being prime examples. Then, France defied the odds to beat the highly-fancied Australia and New Zealand respectively.
The French were in devastating form in last weekend's World Cup quarter-final, beating Ireland with a sensational display of total rugby. Imanol Harinordoquy, Serge Betsen and Olivier Magne stated their case as the finest back row trio in the world at present, while Michalak directed a flamboyant back line.
Defensively, Ireland were strangled out of the game as the French closed them down quickly and heaped on the pressure, and Harinordoquy revealed they have a plan in place to ensure that was no one-off performance.
"Last Sunday we put a lot of pressure on [Ronan] O'Gara and I think it will be the same on Sunday," he said.
"We will try to put a lot of pressure on [Jonny] Wilkinson. We will have a very high defence."
They are tactics the English will be expecting, given it was that rapid defence which formed the basis of France's victory in 2002 and coach Bernard Laporte is aware that England remain a deadly force.
"I don't think that England have dropped away in terms of their form. In fact, I think the complete opposite," said Laporte after naming an unchanged starting 15.
"They have come through some tough matches, and won the games. I still think England are the favourites for the tournament.
"I have got a lot of respect for Clive Woodward, who has turned England into the best team in the world. England have come here with big World Cup ambitions, but that is more about confidence, rather than arrogance."
The only changes since the Ireland game are on the bench, with full-back Clement Poitrenaud, centre Damien Traille and back-row forward Christian Labit coming in. Lock Olivier Brouzet flew home today with a shoulder injury, while utility back Pepito Elhorga has also left following the death of his father.
In the meantime, vice-captain Fabien Pelous said last night he was looking forward to beating England in the World Cup semi-finals if only because they are so unfriendly off the pitch.
A former captain, the 29-year-old will win his 85th cap on Sunday and is a veteran of the 1999 campaign that manager Jo Maso is recalling as an example to the younger players Pelous is relishing the renewal of rivalries with England: "France v England is one of the great historical match-ups," said Pelous, who has scored seven tries since he made his debut in October 1995.
"They are confident and we are confident and we are in top form. However once we are off the pitch, unlike with other adversaries, there is no mixing as the English want nothing to do with us," he added.
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