• The France hosts Wales this Saturday (15:45) on the last day of the Six Nations Tournament.
  • The current Blues walk in the footsteps of the records of the glorious ancients.
  • Fabien Pelous and Vincent Clerc cast a very benevolent eye on their heirs.

Barring a miracle this Saturday, in other words an improved victory against Wales (probability: 90%) combined with an English success in Ireland (probability: 0.5%), the France XV will not win a second Six Nations Tournament in a row. However, on the way to the Holy Grail – a world title at home this autumn – Fabien Galthié's Les Bleus have already sown some records. And that's just the beginning. Antoine Dupont and his colleagues brought the historic number of consecutive victories of the Habs from 10 to 14, before stumbling in Ireland (32-19).

"It's extraordinary, huge, bravo! ignites the immense Philippe Sella, the first player in the world to exceed 100 caps (111 in total between 1982 and 1995). Records are made to be broken. These players delight us. Many are still young or very young. »


"This generation will take all these records to another level," also prophesies Fabien Pelous, the most capped Blue in history (118), no more worried than that to lose one day his Grail. "It's part of post-career life. And then that's a pretty good sign. It means that the national team works well. The generation before, it did not break any records. » A brief review of the performances in question.

Tries: Damian Penaud runs behind Serge Blanco

Thanks to his double in the largest French victory of all time against England at Twickenham (10-53), Damian Penaud (26) became the best try scorer in the Tournament (12 goals) ahead of Vincent Clerc (11). With a total of 24, it is approaching Serge Blanco's 38 mark at high speed, unsurpassable since the Mitterrand era. "Damian has all the potential and the momentum, individually and collectively, to go for this record," said Clerc, who barely realized that his 11 tries in the venerable continental competition were now history.

"I knew I was well placed in terms of the total tries [34], but in the tournament, I didn't know," smiled the consultant for France Télévisions. I think it's great. We feel that Damian is having a lot of fun. When you're a winger, when you touch balls, when there's a certain form of collective euphoria, that's when you usually score. In addition, he is very opportunistic. »

Number of points in the Tournament: Thomas Ramos in pursuit of Gerald Merceron

Promoted to full-back of the Blues since this autumn, the Toulouse managed a high-flying tournament, despite a stroke of less well in Ireland. With 68 points in 4 games, a nice average of 17 per game, he can reasonably hope to erase this Saturday Gerald Merceron from the shelves. Especially against Welsh who only scare Italians... The former Clermont opener had planted 80 during the 2002 Grand Slam.



"We can think that Thomas Ramos, scorer and in canes, can go for the record, judge Vincent Clerc. It doesn't have to be a goal, but points can come quickly into the game. The only thing that can curb the offensive ambitions of this team is the storm and the rain forecast. Certainly. But after all, it was also raining last Saturday at Twickenham...

Number of caps: Will Gaël Fickou catch up with Fabien Pelous?

For the number of matches in the Six Nations Tournament, it is folded, the center of Racing has (43), more than any other Frenchman. If we go back to the twentieth century, and therefore to the V Nations, Fabien Pelous (49) and Philippe Sella (50) remain ahead. For the total of caps, Fickou (78) is still 40 units behind Pelous. But the captain of the French defense will only celebrate his 29th birthday on March 26, even if we sometimes have the impression that he started in the era of Jean-Luc Sadourny and Philippe Bernat-Salles.

40 selections difference? It's been three or four years, calculates Pelous. I don't see how Gaël wouldn't continue his career until then, even if injuries can come into play. I have always had a rather collective spirit. I am delighted that there are players who come to tickle this record. And hopefully he will be beaten. And if it's by several players, it's even better! »

Uini Atonio (49 caps at almost 33 years old), Antoine Dupont, Baptiste Serin, Cyril Baille, Romain Taofifenua (42 each) or Damian Penaud (41) are still far from the great Fabien. And we are not even talking about the world record held by Alun-Wyn Jones, the 2nd Welsh line, who will celebrate this Saturday at the Stade de France his 157th selection, at 37 years old, thanks to his talent and the lack of reservoir of the Principality.

But how far will the Dupont – Ntamack pair go?

The Toulouse hinge will celebrate against the Welsh its 26th joint start, and has already left in the retro the double of the 2010s Parra – Trinh-Duc (21). Given that Dupont is only 26 and Ntamack barely 23, the duo can follow in the footsteps of Ireland's Murray-Sexton veterans' association (68 games together, current streak). Especially since the coach Fabien Galthié is not adept at the slightest slack, unlike most of his predecessors.


"The changes are made more on injuries than on underperformance, as with the emergence of Ethan Dumortier [in place of the poissard Gabin Villière]," observes Clerc. We have seen players being more inside and still being maintained. The results proved the management right. This is particularly the case for Ntamack, in the rough in November and at the beginning of the Tournament, but unstoppable in the minds of the staff.

Some records that will be harder to get

No current player appears in the top 10 scorers of the XV of France, dominated by Frédéric Michalak with 436 points. It must be said that since the beginning of the Galthié era, in 2020, Romain Ntamack, Matthieu Jalibert, Melvyn Jaminet have in turn heated the tee, a charge now entrusted to Thomas Ramos.

The four Grand Slams achieved by Fabien Pelous (yes, still him) and his contemporary Olivier Magne in 1997, 1998 (V Nations), 2002 and 2004 (VI Nations) will also be cotton to match, since the entire current generation has only one to date, last year. "We realize that a Grand Slam is not easy to do in the end," laughs Pelous. We won it in 1997 and 1998, then in 99 we finished 3rd or 4th [actually 5th and last on points difference]. It was another rugby. This team seems a little more sheltered to me. »

  • 6 Nations
  • Rugby
  • Sport
  • XV of France
  • Wales
  • Antoine Dupont
  • Romain Ntamack
  • Damian Penaud
  • Gaël Fickou
  • Thomas Ramos