With the season wrapping up and new challenges on the horizon, fans are ready to move past a turbulent summer where French rugby made headlines more often in the news columns than in the sports pages.
The July tour in Argentina and Uruguay was intended to spotlight a new generation of emerging players, excluding the top 20 who stayed home. This group included Antoine Frisch (now with Toulon), Emilien Gailleton (“who is on a motorway, a fast lane with almost no tolls,” according to the staff), Georges-Henri Colombe, Antoine Hastoy, Léo Barré (who recently signed with Stade Français until 2029), Mickaël Guillard (highly active in the combat zone during the second match against Argentina and now on the staff's radar), and Lenni Nouchi.
Six players on this tour earned their first caps for France, but one notable absentee was 21-year-old tighthead prop Tevita Tatafu from Bayonne. Due to regulatory reasons, Tatafu, who is of Tongan origin, couldn't participate, but he is expected to wear the France jersey in the Autumn Nations Series after impressing the coaching staff during summer preparations.
“We're building around the top 10 players. I’d bet my life that five or six of these players will be [premium players] in the coming years. I’m certain of it. We’ve got some real talent in this group,” said coach Fabien Galthié before embarking on the tour. However, despite the significance of those summer matches, off-field issues have overshadowed the team's performances.
As Galthié acknowledged before the first encounter with Argentina in Mendoza on July 6, “this is really a team with virtually no collective experience”. Despite this, they secured a 13-28 victory, and Galthié commented afterward, “I think we can call this a great match”.
The 43-28 win against Uruguay in Montevideo, achieved four days later with a significantly altered squad amid a tense atmosphere, was followed by the final match of the tour on July 13, which ended in a 33-25 defeat to Argentina.
Despite the mixed results, the coaching staff left South America feeling optimistic about the future. Galthié expressed confidence in the potential of several players, stating that some would likely play a key role in future successes.
Back to the Stade
Beyond the sporting perspective, the major highlight of this second international window of the year is the French national team’s return to the Stade de France for the Autumn Nations Series.
Since the beginning of 2024, France’s national team has been without their largest venue due to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, leading them to play in Marseille (where they lost 17-38 to Ireland), Lille (where they drew 13-13 with Italy), and Lyon (where they narrowly won 33-31 against England) with mixed results.
The French national team returns to the Stade de France with a strong record: out of 103 international matches, they have won 67, drawn two, and lost 34. The most recent defeat, still vivid in everyone's memory, was the heart-breaking 28-29 loss to South Africa in the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 2023.
Since then, the XV de France has not been back, except for Antoine Dupont, who defied the odds by winning a gold medal with the French Sevens team at the Olympic Games on July 27 (an event for which he was afford the honour of being a flag bearer). For the rest of the team, their return to the iconic venue will present a significant challenge.
Autumn Nations Series opponents
For their eagerly anticipated return in November, France have lined up three Test matches. The first match will be against Eddie Jones' Japan, a team the French had comfortably beaten in their previous four encounters before the surprising and historical 23-23 draw in 2017 against Guy Novès' side, during what was meant to be a celebratory occasion marking the opening of the U Arena in Nanterre-La Défense, Paris (with an artificial turf that better suited Japan).
In their following encounter on French soil, held on 20 November 2022 in Toulouse, France secured a 35-17 victory, avenging their previous draw. The upcoming seventh clash between the two teams in France on 9 November is expected to be challenging, particularly given that Eddie Jones has struggled to find his groove in his new role. This summer, Jones's record stands at two wins (against Canada and USA) and three defeats (to England, Georgia, and Italy) in five matches.
This highly anticipated match will be followed by a major highlight of the Autumn Nations Series: a showdown against New Zealand on 16 November. Similar to Japan, the All Blacks have faced challenges with their new head coach, Scott Robertson, struggling to find consistency, with three losses in their first seven games.
However, New Zealand remain formidable opponents, and there’s no doubt that their meeting with Les Bleus at the Stade de France will be a tough battle. The last time these teams met at this venue was on the opening day of Rugby World Cup 2023, where New Zealand suffered a 27-13 defeat. Despite that loss, the All Blacks demonstrated their resilience by advancing to face the Springboks in the final just six weeks later.
On 16 November, it will mark nearly 24 years to the day since the All Blacks first faced the French at the Stade de France. In that initial Test on 10 November 2000, New Zealand emerged victorious with a 39-26 win. Nevertheless, just a week later, Les Bleus avenged the loss with a 42-33 victory in Marseille.
However, it took a 20-20 draw in 2002 and five straight losses—2004 (6-45), 2006 (11-23), 2013 (19-26), 2016 (19-24), and 2017 (18-38)—before the French team secured their first victory against the All Blacks at the Stade de France in 2021, with a 40-25 triumph. Overall, France's record at the Saint-Denis venue is quite modest: just one win in nine matches.
Finally, the last match will carry a unique significance that only rugby can provide: a rematch against Los Pumas on 22 November, echoing the recent tour in Argentina.
Although this match will be one of only three Friday evening fixtures in the Autumn Nations Series, kicking off the final weekend of the competition, it promises to be crucial for the French. It will provide a key opportunity to gauge their form and prepare for what lies ahead.
Surprisingly, only four matches between France and Argentina have been held at the Stade de France, with the record being perfectly balanced. France have suffered two defeats—12-17 in 2007 on the opening day of the Rugby World Cup and 13-18 in 2014—while securing two victories—27-26 in 2006 and 29-20 in 2021.
Adding to this balanced record, the previous tour in Argentina in July 2024 saw each team secure one win. As a result, the outcome of this next match is more uncertain than ever. It promises to be a fitting conclusion to a season that began with a honourable third place for France in the Guinness Men's Six Nations.
