Fabian Galthier of New Zealand: “On September 8, we will have the best team in the world in front of us”

“I said after the game we have to go a little higher. On what planes?

We complete the preparation period. in July, without a match; in August with four games. With a lifestyle adapted to the setting. Now the players will converts Four or five days and Saturday we meet and enter the competition. The goal was to prepare. We just can’t compare what we did there to what we aim to do against the New Zealanders on September 8th. We will be transformed into another world, another psychological commitment, another physical commitment. It would be a completely different world.

Are you where you wanted to be?
The World Cup will start on September 8. Take stock of the past four years, yes we can do that. And in terms of shared experience, collective experience, we’ve come close to what we wanted to do.

Are you satisfied with the content of the four preparatory matches?
There is no need to be satisfied or not. We have made the best possible preparations during these two months, both in choosing hotels and selection and number of matches. The content was perfect. We know that victory is often hidden in the details. For the next five days, players will have a program to follow, either in small groups or individually.

Still conceding three tries against Australia. Isn’t this the negative point of this August month?
This is a big point for improvement. We ran into trouble. Then you have to analyze why. Was the opponent too strong? Or did we help them score those points?

Mathieu Jalibert behaved differently between the first half, when he seemed shy, and the second, when he took more initiatives…
We always try to have the number 10 behind us, Thomas Favorite In this case v. Australia. To be honest, he is credited with a very good performance, both in the first half and in the second half. In the first half, the energy available to the team was average. With the team giving more energy, it was very good. We are very satisfied with both halves of it. We gave ourselves the option to train early and replaced five strikers in the 48th minute. We felt we had to hurry. The strikers had to give us a lot of energy because we lacked it in the first half. They have accomplished their mission.

Do you think New Zealand may have lost a little or a lot of confidence after losing 35-7 on Friday to South Africa?
It is difficult to judge a preparatory match. We agree that what we saw on Friday night was pretty impressive. However, it is difficult to judge the extent of the psychological preparation of the black team for this match, and it is difficult to draw lessons. What I do know is that the New Zealanders have just won their competition, the Rugby Championship. They have eleven official victories, not in a friendly match. For us, the New Zealanders remain the All Blacks, three-time World Cup winners. On the 8th of September, we will have the best team in the world in front of us. »