Two weeks ago, almost everything in French rugby seemed to be burnishing itself a lovely golden hue. Les Bleus were two for two in the 2021 Six Nations, and had just won in Dublin for the first time in a decade.
Fabien Galthie’s World Cup 2023 project was running smoothly.
And then it wasn’t. Some 17 Covid-19 cases among players and staff and a PR disaster later, today’s scheduled match against Scotland – France’s first home game of the tournament – was off, players called up as cover for those who had already tested positive were having to isolate as suspected contact cases, and at least...