'This is just the beginning': More to come from French revolution, warns Fabien Galthie

France head coach Fabien Galthie. Photo: PA Wire via MaxPPP

France coach Fabien Galthie warned future rivals “this is just the beginning” after his young side beat Ireland 35-27 to seal second place in the elongated 2020 Six Nations.

“We won convincingly against Ireland with a try-scoring bonus,” he told reporters, after the final match of the competition. “[They] had beaten us eight times in the last nine games.

“We are a young team that has put 35 points to an Irish team that has been up there with the best of the world for several years. It’s satisfying.”

But there was a frustrated edge to the general air of quiet contentment at a Six Nations job well done. “We are a bit disappointed because we tied with England on points, but didn’t win the tournament.”.

Galthie’s first-year record, with four matches still to play, is already better than recent predecessors Jaques Brunel and Guy Noves. Brunel won three in 10 in his first 12 months. Noves won four.

“When we took charge of the team, we said our goal was to win matches quickly,” Galthie said. “That’s what we have done with five wins in six games. Our goal was also to win titles. England won [this tournament], but this is just the beginning of the story.”

England’s 34-5 win over Italy in Rome had set France a near-impossible task. Les Bleus needed to beat Ireland by 31 clear points and with a try-scoring bonus.

At the best of times, and these are far from the best of times, Stade de France is a fairly terrible place to watch a game of rugby, but there’s no denying 80,000 roaring fans belting out La Marseillaise ramps up the atmosphere several important notches.

In their absence, France —and Ireland — had to make their own atmosphere. It was not easy, and the hosts’ indiscipline was frequently laid bare in phase after phase of hard defence against an Ireland side that was, as it always is, suffocatingly meticulous with ball in hand.

Prop Cyril Baille acknowledged the discipline issues France face. “At the start of the match, we were penalised a lot. It was also a problem against Wales. It is still an area to be resolved... because it could hurt us. What has undoubtedly changed... is that we train very hard and that we have a team with a very strong state of mind. ”

France gave up 14 penalties to Ireland’s seven. The bare stats show Ireland enjoyed more possession, had a sizeable territorial advantage. But they do not tell the whole story. They do not explain that France were clinical — they don’t require much time in the opposition’s 22 to score tries, not when the pace of Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Gael Fickou, or Virimi Vakatawa is at their disposal.

The stats do not show how, despite the penalty count, France remained ice-cool and resolute without the ball — a hallmark of their defence under Shaun Edwards. This France never look like losing their heads. It was never more obvious than when Johnny Sexton went for the corner, rather than the posts in the closing moments of the first half. France held firm on their line, when previous incarnations would probably have shipped a try and given up the lead at a crucial time. The sides went into the tunnel with the scores at 17-13.

Les Bleus’ defence has been a notable strong point since the opening match against England in February. In the two matches this autumn, their rapidly evolving attack — led by Dupont, Ntamack, Fickou and Vakatawa, with strong support from rangy forwards — is starting to offer a strong counterpoint.

Captain Charles Ollivon was quick to highlight it: “We have just scored nine tries in two matches, we are having fun. The dynamic is there and we intend to make it last.

“At the end, we stayed on the pitch to enjoy the moment together. It’s the beginning of the story — these moments are rare and important, so we made the most of it.”

There is little time for Galthie and his fellow coaches to relax. They met again on Sunday morning to select the training squad for the opening Autumn Nations Cup game against Fiji in Vannes.

Under an agreement between the French rugby union and the clubs, he is limited to a maximum of three games per player this autumn. “We will confirm the group of 31 players for Fiji on Monday,” he said. “You will then have a vision of our strategy for this autumn campaign.”