Les Bleus go to Murrayfield with the grand slam in reach and Gaël Fickou says they now have the tools to challenge the bestFrance have arrived in the danger zone. A team that were treated dismissively by Eddie Jones at the start of the Six Nations, were sublime and sloppy against Italy and showed a depth of character in Cardiff missing from the side for a decade now have the title, and a grand slam, in sight. Expectation has replaced hope.A young side have not had to wrestle with the demons of the past because, for the majority of the squad, they were in someone else’s nightmare. On Sunday Les Bleus are at Murrayfield, a ground where they have not...
The spread of the coronavirus may mean the tournament’s end may be delayed until the autumnThe Six Nations organisers meet in Paris on Monday to discuss contingency plans after fears over the cross-border spread of the coronavirus forced the postponement of next Saturday’s match between Ireland and Italy in Dublin and put in doubt England’s trip to Rome on the final weekend. Ireland’s head coach, Andy Farrell, has an extra week to prepare for his side’s final match against the leaders, France, in Paris, but he is not sure if it will go ahead. “We don’t know,” he said. “All we can do is prepare properly for it.”Ireland’s match against Italy is unlikely to be rescheduled before October. The Aviva...
France showed no signs of travel sickness to quieten the Cardiff crowd and remain in the hunt for a grand slam triumphIt used to be a cliche to say that France do not travel well in this competition and always save their best to spring when the sun of Paris is on their backs. This season’s Six Nations has already turned the cliche on its head with Fabien Galthié’s side winning so impressively against England and not so impressively against Italy in foul February weather in the French capital. And now this. Related: France stay on grand slam trail as Romain Ntamack shatters Wales Related: Stuart Hogg’s solo effort leads Scotland to hard-fought victory against Italy Continue reading...
Trip to Cardiff this weekend will be a test of Les Bleus’ fragility when they leave their home in Paris The French revolution this week moves beyond the skirmish stage. Home victories over England and Italy put Les Bleus on top of the Six Nations 10 years after they last finished a campaign in that position, but the test is whether they have found a cure for their travel problems.France’s decline in the 2010s was stark. When they won the grand slam in 2010, their record in the 11 seasons of the Six Nations was 41 victories and 14 defeats. In the nine campaigns since then, they have lost three more matches than they have won and their only away...
Eddie Jones under scrutiny, Wales and Ireland settling into new management regimes, and a fragile French renaissance?After Ciara and Dennis comes storm Eddie? After England overwhelmed New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final the Six Nations seemed a breeze for them, with four teams under new management and Gregor Townsend’s Scotland looking inwards. But it is England’s head coach who is under the most scrutiny after two rounds.Jones’s contract ends in 2021, at the midway point between World Cups, and the sight of Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s Japan 2019-winning coach, at Murrayfield last Saturday was another cause for speculation. Jones’s side’s meek opening in Paris after the Australian’s bellicose buildup was followed by a narrow win in appropriately stormy conditions...