Maxime Mermoz has slammed Fabien Galthié’s coaching of the French national team, and believes the problems they have experienced in this season’s Six Nations were taking root long before their Rugby World Cup exit last year.
Former France centre Mermoz, 37, had a distinguished playing career for France and Toulon, playing in the World Cup final for his country and winning three consecutive Heineken Cup titles with his club between 2013 and 2015.
Speaking on The Rugby Paper Podcast, the outspoken former centre was heavily critical of Galthié, feeling that there was a lack of clarity and consistency in the way Les Bleus boss spoke about his team’s progress – particularly after the abrupt and chastening end to their home World Cup campaign at the hands of South Africa in the quarter-final.
“He was in a bad position after the World Cup,” said Mermoz of Galthié. “Because all of the French rugby world had given them every chance. The clubs had given more freedom to players, everyone had helped the French national team and it was like a big trauma and disappointment.
“It’s normal after that everyone asks ‘why’ to the coach. Instead of trying to explain what he did he said: ‘Since I became coach, we’ve had an 80 per cent win record.’ It’s always talking about what he does well, how everyone loves the team.
“That’s why I think everyone is left feeling a bit upset because we can all agree that the French team gave us positive emotions, we supported them and we are all proud but he failed. It’s like he’s in denial.
“This is where journalists start to lose patience. After the Ireland game he said that in the first-half we gifted all our points to the Irish team. No, it’s because we just defended for the whole half. We never had the ball, only had maybe one attack. So I think he’s always trying to avoid the real problem.
“After [France’s narrow victory against] Scotland he said: ‘We played well, and we are happy and proud’, but after we put 40 points on the All Blacks he was upset, saying: ‘We can play better, we need to improve.’ For me it’s just acting, he’s a good actor.”
That dominant win against New Zealand came at the end of an impressive 2021 where France secured a second consecutive runners-up spot in the Six Nations, beat Australia 2-1 on a tour Down Under and convincingly defeated every team they had played that Autumn.
Through 2022 they went unbeaten, winning their first Six Nations title and Grand Slam for 12 years; contributing to a 14-match winning streak that was eventually ended by Ireland at the 2023 tournament.
Mermoz, however, felt there were ominous signs before the World Cup year, with a reliance on individual skill beginning to supersede the collective team effort that had been responsible for their success before.
And although he accepted that their young players had shown a “new spirit” in their victory against Wales last week, he always expected France to struggle through this year’s championship.
“For me, the first three games were three losses,” he added. “We were very lucky against Scotland, the ref’s decision was a big surprise. We support Les Bleus, but it’s a joke. How could they say no try at the end?
“The team level was very average, and they’ve lost confidence since the World Cup trauma. But for me, they started to lose something in November 2022 because as much as the individuality and talent helped the team we started to lose a team spirit.
“An example would be France vs Australia that year. Australia were better physically, technically and strategically but Damian Penaud saved the game at the end because he stepped three guys and scored in the corner and we won.
“As a rugby game though, it was really poor. Thanks to the ability of the players we remained a dangerous team, but after the quarter-final [loss at] the World Cup I felt we needed to be careful, that the Six Nations would be really, really tough for the team.
“So we started against Ireland in Marseille with the pressure on us, missing a lot of good players and having a lot of injuries, and it was a nightmare. Against Italy I thank god [France drew], I don’t know, maybe he blew on Garbisi’s ball [that fell off the tee] but for everyone it was like a loss.”
Stream this week’s episode of The Rugby Paper Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify (also below), Castbox, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app, and watch some of Mermoz’s comments on France above.
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