Charles Ollivon is confident France’s young and exciting side are at the beginning of their story after finishing their 2020 Guinness Six Nations campaign with victory over Ireland.
Les Bleus secured their fourth win of the Championship in Paris to conclude Super Saturday in style as they narrowly missed out on the title on points difference to England.
A penalty try plus scores from Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack and Virimi Vakatawa saw the hosts prevail with a bonus-point against fellow Championship-contenders Ireland at the Stade de France.
The impressive 35-27 triumph followed Les Bleus running in five tries against Wales a week earlier in their first match since losing to Scotland at BT Murrayfield back in March.
And while their margin of victory was not enough to overhaul England at the summit, skipper Ollivon feels this France side have demonstrated they have a bright future.
“There are grounds for hope,” he said. “We grow, we win, and we have fun on the pitch. We just scored nine tries in two games, it’s true that we’re having fun.
“The dynamic is there and we intend to make it last. At the end, we stayed a bit on the pitch to enjoy the moment between us.
“It was the beginning of the story, these moments are rare and important, so we just took advantage and we will continue tonight.”
France began the Fabien Galthié era by beating World Cup finalists England 24-17 in Paris before defeating Italy and Wales to put them in pole position for a first title since 2010.
But defeat to Scotland in Edinburgh proved costly for Les Bleus while Anthony Bouthier was also left to rue conceding a losing bonus point to England in their opening contest.
“It’s a great victory against a very good Irish team,” said the full-back.
“We knew it would be complicated and it was. We did a great thing, we still put 35 points on Ireland who came with ambitions. Despite everything, we are very happy with our Championship.
“For the first time, we finished tied on points with England but there is still a little regret about the losing bonus point dropped against the English on the first day.”
