6 Nations Women – “We have to get the Welsh moving”: the plan of the Mignot-Ortiz duo (XV of France) announced

• The plan against the Welsh

The players of the XV du Poireau are known for their solidity, insists David Ortiz: “Density is one of their strong points, it will be a real challenge. We weren’t used to it play against this type of team since the start of the tournament.“Gaëlle Mignot, her partner at the helm of Les Bleues explains:”We want girls who have speed. We need to move these Welsh women, make them move. Our strikers know the challenge that awaits them and we hope that our fast players will have a lot of balls to play.”

• The contribution of the “septists”

Joanna Grisez, Anne-Cécile Ciofani and Chloé Jacquet, three players who have recently arrived from the French 7s team, will be launched into the deep end on Sunday (16:15). The duo of French coaches is satisfied with the contribution of the players who arrived last Thursday in the group, Gaëlle Mignot in the lead: “They got right into the project, worked hard, it’s stimulating.“Before David Ortiz insists on the excitement that comes from their arrival in France’s XV:”It is stimulating for our managers to have new players. Gabrielle Vernier and the others were proactive in their communication. Our entire three-quarter line feels worn.“

• “For Romane Ménager today, everything is going well“

For weeks, the Blues’ third midfield repositioning to the position of flanker has impressed observers as well as the selectors.Novel is in full possession of its funds. Last year she had some physical problems that made her return to the group difficult. Today everything is going well, she adds a lot to the team” supports Gaëlle Mignot, before David Ortiz continues: “Romane has benchmarks, she often rotates between number 8 and number 6, even in training. She is on a very positive dynamic, her repositioning will not change anything in our organization.“

• Madoussou Fall on the bench, Charlotte Escudero starts

Among the cchanges made against Wales, one was perhaps more surprising than the others: removing Madoussou Fall, one of the best French ball carriers, from the starting XV. Gaëlle Mignot explains this choice: “We build our teams to give ourselves the opportunity to play full matches lasting 80 minutes. The goal of making Madoussou fall to the bench and that she can take the power with her at the end of the match. There was never any question of blowing it.“

As a reminder, the French, who face Wales on Sunday at 4.15pm.are still in contention for the grand slam, just like the English women they will face next weekend.