France rugby coach Fabien Galthié has responded defiantly to complaints that his squad underperformed during the 2026 Six Nations tournament, in which Les Bleus claimed the crown.
"What we have is what I’d call a victory, a final victory," said the 56-year-old former international, moments after steering France to a record eighth Six Nations title in the 26-year history of the competition.
"And I’m not going to hide my pleasure in repeating: 'final victory, two seasons in a row'."
Following the 50-40 defeat to Scotland on 7 March, the knives came out for Galthié.
Le Midi Olympique said: "If Les Bleus suffered such a heavy disillusionment and conceded 50 points in Scotland, it is partly because they failed to find the resources to react and revolt. In this sense, many senior figures – among them [Antoine] Dupont, [Charles] Ollivon, [Julien] Marchand, and [Yoram] Moefana – must take their share of the responsibility."
Le Dauphiné newspaper asked: "Where have the seductive, disciplined, and solid Bleus gone?". It described the match as "an afternoon in hell where almost nothing went the way of a helpless French side, who grew increasingly agitated as events unfolded".
France's 48-46 win over England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on 14 March brought redemption for the beleaguered coach and took his team past Ireland to the top of the 2026 Six Nations table.
As France's players return to their Top 14 clubs for domestic competitions this weekend, national squad bosses will turn their attention to not only next year's Six Nations tournament – where France could become the first team to win three titles on the trot – but to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Organisers of the World Cup say more than 750,000 tickets have been snapped up by fans from around the world for the games, to be held at eight venues in cities including Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.
"Reaching more than 750,000 tickets sold with over 18 months to go until the tournament is a significant milestone and reflects the excitement building right across Australia and internationally," said Chris Stanley, 2027 World Cup managing director.
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Criticism
Well before France take off for Australia, Galthié appeared eager to bring rugby journalists and pundits back down to earth.
He accused them of overstating France's capabilities and the likelihood of a Grand Slam – winning all five games in the Six Nations championship.
"Of course we have to win this year's Six Nations," said journalist Maxime Raulin on Crunch, the rugby podcast of the sports newspaper L'Equipe just before the start of the 2026 tournament.
"We won the title last year and we came very close to a Grand Slam," Raulin added. "So now, with three matches at home, we can aim for five wins and head calmly towards the next World Cup. Because that’s the real objective."
During the same podcast, rugby reporter Romain Bergogne added: "For the 2026 Six Nations, a Grand Slam is a must."
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Shortly after landing the match-winning penalty against England, the France full-back Thomas Ramos lamented defensive frailties that allowed 14 tries and 96 points in two matches.
"At this level, we cannot concede 50 points, then more than 40 the following week, if we want to exist in major competitions," he told France TV.
"If we concede so many tries, those competitions will be won without us."
Galthié concurred. "It's true that we can't go on doing that," he added. "It's a valid point but we have just won a major competition. But it is one of the areas we need to improve.
"When you see the quality of the players and teams we face, every match is an incredibly difficult tactical and strategic battle," Galthié added.
"We are ambitious, but we can’t announce a Grand Slam before the tournament even starts. To me, that shows either a lack of understanding or a lack of respect for the environment we operate in."
The final game against England proved his point. Steve Borthwick's men arrived in Paris on a dreadful run of form. Following an opening day win over Wales, they slumped to defeats against Ireland and Scotland. They also lost to Italy for the first time.
"I’d like to pay tribute to England," said Galthié. "They played at an incredibly intense pace even though they had nothing to gain except beating France in Paris."
Explosive Bielle-Biarrey
Dupont will be at the heart of Galthié's configurations for the 2027 Six Nations and the World Cup along with the explosive finishing skills of Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
The 22-year-old ended the 2026 Six Nations with a record nine tries – a year after equalling the then record of eight tries.
The four he scored against England allowed him to emulate the feats of Adolphe Jauréguy in 1924 against Romania and Maurice Celhay in 1937 against Italy.
Galthié will also be keen to examine Romain Ntamack's silky skills when the 26-year-old fly-half will return from a two-month injury lay-off for Toulouse's Top 14 clash at Union Bordeaux-Bègles on Sunday night.
He and Toulouse teammate Dupont were the lynchpins of Galthié's tactical masterplan for the 2023 World Cup in France. But Ntamack was injured just before the tournament and Dupont during the group stages game against Namibia at the Vélodrome in Marseille.
Although Dupont returned to face South Africa in the last eight, he could not prevent a 29-28 win for the Springboks, who went on to beat New Zealand in the final.
"We have one tournament left before the World Cup," said Galthié. "And we’ll try to be better next year."
