Galthie, Dupont, Ramos and Wardi react to team announcement to face New Zealand

Fabien Galthié - head coach

On Jonathan Danty's absence:

"He would have liked to start this match. Every player would have liked to start this match. We reached a decision, and he understood it. There are four qualifying matches, and then there are the elimination matches. The team starting today will evolve. We can't stick to 15 starters and eight finishers. We’re a group of 33, plus those on standby."

On the Fickou/Moefana centre pairing:

"We need a French team capable of adapting, an agile team, with complementary players. We have every confidence in Gaël Fickou and Yoram Moefana, who have played together previously. Yoram has a wealth of experience, having been with us for almost three years. Together with Gaël, we've worked on a lot of combinations in our preparation and our warm-up matches. We must adapt to current form. This is the best France team today."

On managing pressure:

"We practise. It's part of the work we've done since the beginning of our mandate. We've evolved, we've progressed in managing the emotions of events. 

"Every competition is an event in itself. The World Cup is an event in its own right. We've prepared and trained to be the best we can be in that area. There's also our performance and tactics and strategy. We mix these three components to tick as many boxes as possible to achieve victory."

On what the team will be doing during the opening ceremony:

"It's pretty simple for us. We're locked in. We're not going to spread ourselves too thin. World Rugby has given us 22 minutes, we're hoping for maybe 24. We're going to arrive 90 minutes before kick-off, and we're going to be in a fairly large, fairly comfortable space that we know. We're going to prepare like we did against Australia, where we rehearsed a kind of general pre-match preparation for a match."

On replacement prop Dorian Aldegheri:

"Dorian is here because he deserves to be. He's had an extraordinary career with us and with his club. Today, he came into the dressing room to pick up this jersey with authority. He's a very important player. He's going to take part in the battle of the scrum.

"We have two scrum captains. We've got a captain who's just starting out, tighthead Uini Atonio, and a second captain who needs to feel seven partners pulling together in the defensive and offensive phases of the scrum. Dorian is here for all these reasons. 

"We didn't plan to put him on the loose-head side. Dorian will come in as a tight-head [prop]. There can be problems, of course, unfortunately. We have to adapt. On the loose-head, we have Reda [Wardi] and JB [Jean-Baptiste Gros] to finish the match. We've got what we need and on the tighthead side, we've got work to do. Dorian will help us in that area.

"We went 6-2 [forwards / backs on the bench], without Romain [Taofifenua], against Australia. It works with different profiles. It's a matter of timing. It depends on the performance at the time, the strategy, the preparation. It's a spur-of-the-moment choice. We will prepare for the four qualifying matches in strategically and tactically different ways."

On New Zealand:

"They’re a magnificent first opponent, but first let's talk about this competition. We've been passionate about the game since we were kids, we love the oval ball, and to be able to take part in the best that our sport has to offer... we're so happy. We're trying to take in the moment, all the best teams in the world arriving here on our soil to compete for seven weeks in what is the most beautiful, the best of our rugby, this competition.

"What could be better than New Zealand? I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this is a team that hasn't lost a match in the qualifying [pool] phase since the World Cup began. Ever. 31 wins. This is a team that has three World Cup titles to its name, a team that has just won the last competition it took part in, the Four Nations (Rugby Championship). They're on a 10-game winning streak [before losing to South Africa at Twickenham]. We're so happy to be playing them that Friday's match is a celebration, a joy, a great joy for us. It's wonderful."

On team selection:

"When we announce a team - today we've just announced our 40th line-up - our starters or finishers are an obvious choice, which has been obvious through our day-to-day work.

"Every player selected is an obvious choice. There's no doubt about their potential, or their ability to perform."

On pressure:

"Today is our 40th match. When we started out, we laid down some fairly simple rules based on a kind of vision: to bring French rugby together, to unite and share with the fans. Little by little, we’ve felt the support building, the public has identified with the team and what it means. It's been like this for four years now - in good times and bad.

"Our own role is simply to play. We're happy to play. We enjoy the moment and being with each other very much. That's what's at stake for us. We don't carry any weight, we don't have any baggage to weigh us down. We're very happy to be playing, and especially to be starting against New Zealand on Friday."

Antoine Dupont – captain and scrum-half

On New Zealand:

"They're the most beautiful team to watch, a team that generations and generations have dreamed of. For as long as the World Cup has existed, this is the team that has created the biggest impression, with extraordinary players and extraordinary teams. As a child, like all rugby fans, I admired the team and its players. To face them in the opening match of a competition in France, everything is in place for it to be a great event. It's up to us to put all the ingredients in place to ensure a positive outcome. It's a great line-up."

On the pressure of the first 15 minutes:

"I'd have liked it to be just the first 10 minutes, but I think it's going to be the whole match. Like all great teams, they have very few weak points. They're a team with a wealth of collective experience, capable of turning things around. We're preparing for the start of the match, because it's the start of the World Cup, and the pressure will be on. The tricky thing will be to maintain our intensity throughout the match."

On his responsibility as a player and captain:

"We all have a responsibility to do something great at this World Cup. I'm captain, so I'm perhaps more in the limelight than the others, but we all want to write our names into the tournament’s record books, something no French side has managed to do.

"There's pressure because we're expected to do well, and we've built up people's hopes over the last four seasons with the results we've had. The pressure isn't as high as the motivation and standards we set ourselves - or our ambition."

On Raphael Ibanez's influence:

"We talked a lot, especially at the start of my captaincy. Things went pretty well. We had regular exchanges - nothing formal. We have a team that works well that way. I feel supported by the group, Gaël [Fickou], Charles [Ollivon] or Julien [Marchand], who are experienced and who are at my side. Everyone has a well-defined role that helps the group move forward. It's easier for me to fulfil that role. And if I have any questions, the coaches are there to answer them."

Thomas Ramos, full-back

On France’s tournament favourites tag:

"We're definitely one of the best nations in the world today [but] there are teams ahead of us. I think a lot of teams are here to win this competition. We're one of those teams. I don’t know if we are the favourites [for the tournament], but we're one of the favourites, along with several other teams."

On the pressure of starting against New Zealand:

"I’m very lucky to start, but I don't know if there's a lot of pressure right now. You have to try and ignore it - somehow, we're used to it. We've already played in front of 80,000 people at Stade de France. I think we're prepared for that. I don't know how we'll react to the anthems or kick-off. It's more a case of wanting to be there."

Reda Wardi, loosehead prop

On building team spirit:

"We try to bond in our spare time. We've been together for quite a while now. We have time to chat and have a laugh. That's what we try to do."

On the pressure of a Rugby World Cup:

"It's a huge source of pride. Personally, it's my first World Cup. I want to share it, especially with those close to me. It's very motivating."