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France gears up for next year's rugby World Cup

France manager Jo Maso is convinced that winning the Six Nations title is proof his team can triumph at next year's World Cup at home.

While England's latest flop suggests coach Andy Robinson's team will be relinquishing its title.

France will host the World Cup final in 18 months, and although there is another Six Nations before then, it looks like Les Tricolores will be the best chance from the northern hemisphere.

"We have won 13 of the last 15 matches over three years in the Six Nations," said Maso after France beat Wales 21-16 to win its third title in five years on points difference after Ireland also had four wins.

"We are undefeated in France in seven matches since November. We have also got the record number of points since 2000 in the Six Nations. This team is going to go a long way."

Maso and coach Bernard Laporte realize that France didn't have to play well to win the title.

France, which was beaten in the opening round by Scotland, needed a late try by center Florian Fritz to win at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Wales, the 2005 Grand Slam champion, had coach Mike Ruddock resign after beating Scotland 28-18 in the second round and it didn't win another game in the championship.

"You always need a bit of luck. You can never have a perfect 80 minutes -- but we have won four times," said Laporte, who was without injured star center Yannick Jauzion for the whole tournament.

"We are not yet world champions, but we are proud of these players. There have been matches in which we have not been brilliant, but we won four times and that means something."

Ireland beat England 28-24 in the last round to win the Triple Crown -- having also beaten Wales and Scotland -- after winger Shane Horgan scored his second try two minutes from fulltime at Twickenham.

"This is a stepping stone to bigger things, hopefully," Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll said. "We needed the performance we've been talking about this week for the whole of the Six Nations, and to put it in to win the Triple Crown feels good."

While it was glory for France and Ireland, it was gloom for England. Since winning the World Cup in November 2003, England has lost eight of its 15 Six Nations matches and has been heavily beaten by New Zealand and Australia. Former coach Clive Woodward's desire to see England dominating the sport worldwide seems a distant dream.

England's loss on Saturday was its third in a row to Ireland, but it was inconceivable pre-tournament that fourth-placed England would finish below Scotland with only Wales and Italy beneath it.

Robinson doesn't think England's Six Nations position accurately reflects his team's ability.

"International rugby can change very, very quickly; and the momentum of the game can swing on decisions that are made," said Robinson, who believed Horgan went into touch when scoring his first try.

"I felt we were on the wrong end of a number of decisions and that's disappointing. There's a fine line between winning and losing and today we were on the wrong side of that."

Robinson doesn't believe his job is in danger.

"We're doing a review and I'll be meeting with [Rugby Football Union chief executive] Francis Baron to discuss everything," Robinson said. "But I've got total belief in myself and I'm not expecting to go anywhere."

Wales also lost captain Gareth Thomas for the last three games after he had a mild stroke.
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