the Six Nations Tournament should not be a repetition of the World Cup for Raphaël Ibañez

For this 2023 Six Nations Tournament, it is in the Landes, in Capbreton that the staff of Les Bleus has decided to put down their suitcases for the final preparations before the start of the competition. Special guest of the show Europe 1 Sport (every evening from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), the manager of the XV of France Raphaël Ibañez justified this choice of the Southwest.

“We wanted change, it’s good to bring a touch of originality to our operation. We find ourselves in the South-West, a land of rugby. It’s a whole region that got into action welcome us. What matters is to bring mental freshness to the players. It’s up to us to create enthusiasm and a certain dynamic”, set the goal of the general manager of the Blues. And this enthusiasm, the 42 players selected by Fabien Galthié can find it with an audience of enthusiasts.

2000 spectators expected on Wednesday

Capbreton, a land of rugby which can help the Blues to motivate themselves before the start of the Sixth Nations. The staff has even decided to open this Wednesday’s training session to the public. 2000 tickets were put online for free for the occasion. The players of the France team must remain in the Landes until the first match of the Tournament, that is to say next February 5 against Italy. The Blues will then go directly to challenge the Irish in Dublin.

For Raphaël Ibañez, the importance lies in cohesion and in “sharing”. This is how the staff of the Blues intends to weld the group in which there are experienced players like Antoine Dupont, but also novices. “There are players who are discovering the France group. These are strong moments for these young players. We know our group, we know our potential”, declared the most capped hooker in the history of the XV of France in Europe 1 Sport.

Global Goal?

But will the Blues make this Six Nations Tournament a dress rehearsal before the 2023 Rugby World Cup which will take place from September 8 to October 28, 2023? Not sure for the general manager of the France team: “You have to put yourself in the shoes of the players. I would not have understood a coach saying “this competition will allow us to prepare for another competition”. No, we have to play this Six Nations Tournament to the full”, he shouted before continuing: “What we want is to continue to win matches.”

The Blues are currently on their best series in their history, 13 wins in a row, and they do not intend to stop there: “Just that, we are delighted to continue,” said Raphaël Ibañez. And it will start with a good start to the Sixth Nations Tournament against Italy on February 5th. For the manager of the Blues, “Italy will remain a big piece. They proved in November that they had resources”. France is expecting a trap match. But the team, well led by Antoine Dupont, will be able to win their 14th victory in a row, an unprecedented performance.