France – England. “A hell of a tournament, literally and figuratively,” said French XV coach Fabian Galthy.

The conclusion is happy but we have been through all the moods in Lyon…

I would remove the “but” from your question. I’d say “and” instead: we’ve all gone through moods and this happy conclusion, we’re looking for. She is important. It is beautiful.

How to explain this scenario?

It’s hard to explain. It is possible to say. We entered the match very well, especially with our forwards and physical dominance in the scrum. But we also lacked clarity, we didn’t always deliver… On the contrary, the English team was in place, we exposed ourselves and won 21-0. There, that was a moment when the building really shook and you have to be really strong to achieve what the team did. The boys threw themselves on the crumbs, got their hands on the ball again… and once again, all the players coming in allowed us to regain control, get the score back.

The match, with its many twists and turns, was surprisingly reminiscent of the World Cup quarter-final loss to South Africa…

exactly Except in the end, we win… I wanted this tournament to be a continuation of our story and it happened.

Has the team evolved during this 6 Nations tournament?

The team fought, even if, at the time, it was complicated. We started the tournament with fourteen players (after Paul Willemse’s premature dismissal against Ireland, editor’s note), which was not a good idea. We paid dearly for these mistakes but the team continued to be resilient. After the draw against Italy (13-13), we had two important matches left in six days. That was the key. The players stood up and said: “It’s for us”.

How did you experience the final fine of this meeting?

I came down. I wanted to see his face. Anyway, I couldn’t do anything else. Maxime Luku was also eager to push him. Both were hot but Thomas Ramos held the hand. Bravo to him.

Has this 6 Nations tournament allowed you to break free from Antoine Dupont’s shadow?

I don’t want to talk about absent people. The challenge, when you pick a French team, is to talk about gifts. They accepted the challenge and made it possible to do what we have done in the last eight weeks.

What did you think of Nolan Le Garec’s performance?

He is a great kid and he made the 6 Nations tournament very good. (He pauses) You know, we were almost embarrassed to welcome all these young men into the France group in this situation. We told them one way: “Welcome to the Storm”. But Nolan, like everyone else, was super solid. He has potential and when the door was closed, he brought us a lot.

Do these last two wins against Wales and England erase a slow start to the competition?

It is a great tournament. Hell of a tournament. Literally figuratively. It was burning, there was no relief. We were sometimes on the edge, sometimes on top, sometimes on the brink… but we were strong, players and staff alike. We, the coaches, felt guilty for letting the players experience these moments and did everything we could to make sure they didn’t last.