Gregory Alldritt says replacing the injured Antoine Dupont as France captain has “changed nothing” in the buildup to Saturday’s Six Nations title decider against Scotland.
The talismanic Dupont is missing from Saturday’s game due to a serious knee injury he suffered in last week’s demolition of holders Ireland.
Alldritt’s troops are guaranteed a second Six Nations in four years if they manage to beat Scotland with a bonus point.
“It’s changed nothing at all,” the No 8 told reporters on Friday. “We’re at the end of a Six Nations, the system has been in place since the start.
“We’ve continued with what we’ve been working on for seven weeks.
“I’m captain this weekend but our captain for the Six Nations, and France’s captain remains Antoine,” he added.
Les Bleus are 80 minutes away from the title despite a gutting loss to England in round three, which was followed by impressive victories away to Italy and Ireland.
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“I believe a lot in destiny, so I asked myself, would we have put in such performances against Ireland and Italy, had we have won in England?” the 27-year-old Alldritt said.
“We’ll never know. We’ve progressed little by little. We’ve matured, become more consistent and I hope we’ll prove that once again tomorrow night.”
France host Scotland in the final match on Saturday, after Ireland head to Italy and England travel to Wales, needing wins to keep their hopes of the title alive.
“There’s no strict instructions about watching the other games,” Alldritt said. “When we get on the field we don’t need to know England or Ireland’s results.
“When we wear the jersey we want to give everything, win every game we play and whatever those results it won’t impact our preparation,” he added.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
