XV of France: “We have to put things in order”, says captain Charles Ollivon before playing Italy

The 3rd row regains his role as captain. MAXPPP – Alexis Sciard

“The heads are a little higher” within the XV of France, affirmed Saturday its captain Charles Ollivon on the eve of facing Italy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq with the ambition of “giving ourselves the right to dream" of the final victory in the Six Nations Tournament.

Did the success snatched in Scotland (20-16) reduce the pressure after the opening rout against Ireland (38-17)?

“The atmosphere is different, of course, since we met again. We were able to give a serious performance (at Murrayfield), we gave a lot in this match. There is necessarily more pride that comes out of it than in the first match. Heads are a little higher.

It allowed us to engage in the preparation for this match against Italy in a slightly fresher way, with more energy, more desire perhaps. We are still in the race. We won in Scotland, that's not nothing. The dynamic can be positive. It's up to us to be serious tomorrow (Sunday) to give ourselves the right to dream about the last two matches.”

Do you think you can still win the Tournament ?

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

“The first thing after Ireland was to find our pride, our rugby. To be able to look at ourselves a little more in the mirror. We know the Six Nations Tournament, it's a competition that is very long. We know that every point counts, it can be decided on the last day. Obviously it's in the back of our minds. And to be in the game until the last day, we have no choice, we have to go through a big game this weekend.”

Beyond the victory, can hosting Italy, a more approachable opponent on paper, allow you to have fun offensively ?

“We will first make sure we have the will to win the match. We looked at our previous matches against the Italians in the Tournament. Even if we had made good starts, we had stuttered our game a little at times. They also had a great first match against the English. We have to put things in order.

There will obviously be a lot of fighting and without the fundamentals, we cannot hope to advance. We will focus on doing the simple things in a good way, by being disciplined and organized. There is also the 50th selection of two players (Cyril Baille and Romain Taofifenua), we have to perform well to them”.

How do you feel about regaining the captaincy in the absence of Grégory Alldritt, who is injured ?

“Quite simply. There are several leaders, all with responsibilities in the team. It happened very naturally. There is a desire to do well, as usual, to guide the team, to move forward seriously with a lot of pleasure and enthusiasm. Greg (Alldritt) was also there this week, Gaël (Fickou), Julien (Marchand)…

We can name everyone. Everyone has their place, everyone has their role and we all move forward together, hand in hand”.