Excluded. “This French team is the best ever,” Cédric Heymans is confident ahead of the quarter-finals!

Great group stages

Driven by his great passion, Cédric Heymans is now involved with Canal+ TVs and Andros where he is responsible for customer relations and commercial development. The latter has also set up an internal betting system at the food company, which happily obliges him to follow the World Cup closely.

Very attached to the French XV, the man who has worn the Rooster shirt 59 times has returned to analyze the Blues’ recent matches: “The main match, of course against New Zealand, was tense at the beginning, but it went really well, and they managed to magically speed it up. Against Uruguay, the match was a bit chaotic, but it still makes sense, because the second match is still difficult to play.” “It is often full of surprises.”

“For the last match, the Blues pleasantly surprised me, they were full of confidence. Even if they never stop surprising us, this match was very enjoyable, and we know that the team is improving.”

Regarding the demands of our French XV, we can often say that we are too harsh on Antoine Dupont’s teammates. For Cédric Heymans, this requirement remains logical and beneficial for this team: “No, it is not very difficult for this French team, the demands that this team places on it, by repeating it to us and showing us beautiful things, it is natural that we then react to Uruguay. Of course this match is not a failure, but this is not a success and it is good not to We wonder after the match even if he wins. We demand, because also, in recent years, they have never failed, even in defeat, it has been constant, so I find it good that we are demanding.

Football. world Cup. French XV knows the quarter rule against South Africa

Previous World Cups, unique experiences

Thanks to two World Cups, in 2007 and then in 2011, Cédric Heymans knows the atmosphere of this exceptional competition all too well. If 2011 will remain one of the worst memories of his career, given the brutal defeat in the final, there is also regret for the 2007 World Cup in France!

The winger tells us about it: “For us, I think we mismanaged the excitement of the first World Cup in France, and the first game against the Lions caught us by surprise, so moving forward was complicated. Then we tell each other some facts, allowing us to qualify for the quarterfinals against the black team. “We lost in the semi-finals, so this World Cup, as a host country, is not a success, but it is not a failure either, because we did some great things.”

“But returning to the current French team, I find that all these details, these small ‘side lines’, have no importance for them because the management is doing an exceptional job. The psychological, mental, etc. aspect are not neglected!”

Confident against Bucs?

If many observers don’t feel comfortable facing South Africa’s physical monsters, Cedric Heymans is not one of them. The former Bayonne player puts all his confidence in the French national team: “Yes, I am confident. Confidence does not exclude fear. They are two different things. But I am convinced that they can become world champions, they are a golden generation.”

For the latter, the fact of playing with the All Blacks so early, and that this competition is being held in France, is enough to win the clash against the Boks: “Because you are playing for your country, in your country, so you will have a special extra spirit. I think the scenario should be the same as what happened against the Black Team, but we must be prepared to give more than half the battle. This match against the New Zealanders on the first day was very useful, as it prepared them for the final stages. The French XV competed in physical dimension and ended up sinking New Zealand. Same thing against Italy because it was a very exciting match.”

On the subject of Antoine Dupont, Heymans is not indifferent to him and knows the challenges of his return to the blue, here is his opinion: “I will stand behind medical advice, it’s a piece mistress And the best player in the world. I was happy that he returned so quickly to the French team, as Dan Carter was able to create videos for Perpignan to win 14th. He has such an aura and drive that it was important to have him there to prepare. . Now, I think he is pretty much able to figure out what to do, if the doctors confirm his 100% recovery.

“Against the Springboks, he’ll hit hard, it’s their record, so he won’t be able to protect his face, that’s for sure. On the other hand, the South Africans won’t make any bad moves, I’m sure of that. So, yes, their rugby is a physical game, and it’s tough for 80 minutes, when they can corner you, they gladly do it, but they don’t take bad shots!

The best French team in history?

If this edition of the French national team 2023 has a special enthusiasm, the victories and collective strength have a lot to do with it. For Cedric Heymans, although he has known golden generations, with talented players, he must be the right generation this time!

Who started his career in Brave returned to the similarity between this generation and the generation of 2011, which lost in the final:“One thing, they are really close to the title, we were in 2007 and 2011! In any case, the French XV of 2023 is far superior to all French teams since the beginning of professionalism, and even in any tournament for that matter! They have great tacticians, and we are talking about a team that has lost its player, its second-line, its No. 10 and its captain, but that was not the feeling against Italy. But personally, I don’t see a single team well prepared, trained and armed to be world champions.“

To talk in more detail about the 2011 final, which they lost by one point to the Lions, it remains generally a good memory: “It’s illogical and unreal, it reminds me of what Portugal achieved against Fiji in Toulouse, that’s what the World Cup is all about! We weren’t the best team ever. France at that time, but we had the best result!” Will this team reach the quarter-finals? “I do not believe and do not hope, in any case, that she will be the most armed and the most complete to be the world champion.”

Finally, the man who wore the Stade Toulousan jersey 260 times recalled his fondest World Cup memories: “The quarter-final match against the Blacks in 2007, there, honestly, I remember, I was still in my hotel room, but I called my wife and told her “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know we’re going to leave health on the grass.” Despite this, we don’t have a great match! But we are so aggressive that we have been able to successfully confront them as well. But I still have this unreal image of Jean-Baptiste Elisalde running into our camp to run the clock and kick a shot, and I still get goosebumps just talking about it.”

video. Less than a year ago, the French XV defeated South Africa after a crazy match