This week, the Blues of the XV of France were visited by a former Olympic champion coach. Laurent Tillie was titled last summer with the French volleyball team at the Olympic Games. He spent a few days in ovality.
Laurent Tillie spent "a few days with [us]", said Fabien Galthie, his rugby counterpart after the victory of XV France against Japan (42-23)
He's an acquaintance. We worked together. We did coaching seminars together. There was Laurent, Guillaume Gille (coach for the French handball team). Editor's Note. He came to Tokyo with us two or three days after we had been following each other daily. "A sharing of experience" was what we called it, and today he is here with us, "assured coach of the XV France.
He spent many days with the players and was even seen standing on the grass before the Toyota meeting kicked off. Laurent Tillie assured him that he was thrilled.
"I saw in L'Equipe they were out of quarantine. I was also trying to find a venue to watch the match, and Fabien told me that he didn't think so. Come on Wednesday, Tokyo! (...) He asked me to talk about my experiences as a coach and player, which was a very pleasant evening. He said that I spent the entire day with them, from the briefing through to the match. It was amazing.
"We are all used to the same breakdown of the day. It's pretty similar, but it's still interesting to see briefings with 40 players and 30 staff members... Seventy-eight people, that's a different fact.
"We are more commando-minded. It's also fascinating to observe the amount of speaking time he gives all his assistants. "Added the volleyball player, who is located in Osaka, approximately 500 km from Tokyo.
Laurent Tillie (58), is now a coach at the Panasonic Panthers in Japan. He was the Blues' manager between 2012-2021.
His leadership saw the French volleyball team win the 2020 Olympic Games, the European Championship (2015), and the World League (2015, 2017).
Fabien Galthie's Les Bleus, currently on tour in Japan, won the first match against the Brave Blossoms.
