'I remember the Lowe try' - Galthié calls for fair refereeing in Dublin

FRANCE BOSS FABIEN Galthié said he hopes to see fair refereeing in his side’s huge Six Nations meeting with Ireland on Saturday in Dublin.

Australian referee Angus Gardner will take charge of a clash that is being dubbed as the championship decider.

Galthié has sparked plenty of headlines with his decision to go for a 7/1 bench split against Ireland, but he was keen to talk about the refereeing at his press conference today.

The France head coach was asked about his tactical approach for this meeting with Ireland and opted to discuss the refereeing, highlighting James Lowe’s controversial try when the sides met in Dublin in the 2023 Six Nations.

Lowe’s acrobatic finish in the left corner involved a lengthy TMO review to ascertain whether his foot had been in touch before he dotted down. The decision went in Ireland’s favour and they claimed a bonus-point win that day on their way to the Grand Slam.

“It depends on who has the ball,” said Galthié when asked about France’s strategy for this game.

“It’s important that we play our rugby. Ireland will do all they can to stop us, so we need to be supported by decisive and consistent refereeing.

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“We need coherence in our understanding of the game, like we have done with the preparation of the game with the referees. What they expect, what we expect? What’s tolerated, what’s not tolerated?

“We need great equality on the key points. We need to be judged equally at the scrum, with the understanding of the maul. We want to bring speed to the game, so we need great fairness in the understanding of the breakdown.

“We also want to have our say on the tempo of the game, the balance of the game in the key moments. We have to play with the referees.

“I remember the James Lowe try two years ago which opened debate.

“We have to feel at ease in the fabulous context of the Aviva Stadium.”

Galthié has raised the issue of refereeing. Dave Winter / INPHO Dave Winter / INPHO / INPHO

Galthié believes that a 7/1 bench split was the right call for this game against Ireland, having used that alignment of replacements last time out against Italy.

Scrum-half Maxime Lucu is the only back on the bench, meaning backline injuries could cause major disruption for the French.

“The decision is linked to the profile of the players we have right now,” said Galthié.

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“I’ll say it again, there’s always a risk. Right now, it’s what feels most relevant to performing well in Ireland. Italy was the first experience and we’ve had that match and more training which allowed us to complete our work and sharpen our strategy.”

France had a visit from football legend Thierry Henry this week, with the ex-Arsenal forward very well received by the players.

Galthié said Henry’s infamous handball against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in 2010 hadn’t been considered when asking him to come in and revealed it was French skipper Antoine Dupont who had set the visit up.

“It’s not light-hearted as he spoke about that time, it wasn’t light-hearted for him,” said Galthié.

“I want to thank him. It’s often the coaches who find them, but this time it was Antoine Dupont and his networks and DMs that found him.

“Henry was generous, open, he gave a lot to the whole team. He was in total freedom, he didn’t want it filmed. He wanted to talk, he spoke with a lot of honesty, commitment. We learnt a lot from his experience. He shared a lot.

“Yesterday we had a visit from [French actor] Jonathan Cohen, he gave a lot too.

“All that helps us build.”

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