Four years on and the perennial question arises: Which France side will play at the World Cup?
The one that, of all the northern hemisphere nations, reserves their best rugby for confronting traditional favorites the All Blacks at the quadrennial showpiece or the one that for all their natural talent sometimes looks a shambles?
A perfect example of this Jekyll-and-Hyde character was the manner in which they stumbled to defeat against Tonga four years ago before amazingly running New Zealand close in the final.
Photo: AFP
Truth be told, things are no clearer four years on as the reign of Philippe Saint-Andre has failed to produce any more rhythm or consistency to their performances and results than under previous coach Marc Lievremont.
With Saint-Andre at the helm they have never finished higher than fourth in the Six Nations, filling that spot on three occasions and even had the humbling experiencing of finishing rock bottom in 2013.
This maddening inconsistency was again reflected in their warm-up games for the Cup, which ended with honors even in their two matches against World Cup hosts England and a victory over an improving Scotland, who were more than holding their own at the Stade de France before the hosts grabbed a late winning try when the Scots were down to 14 men.
For Saint-Andre, who come what may at the World Cup is to stand down once France’s campaign ends, there is no question that his troops, captained — as in 2011 — by fearless flanker Thierry Dusautoir, leave for the tournament in fine fettle regardless of the many skeptics at home and abroad.
“We will leave for England full of confidence, on the back of managing to win two successive games!” said the 48-year-old former France skipper and dashing wing, whose overall record as coach reads 17 wins, two draws and 21 defeats.
“This evening [the win over Scotland last Saturday] was a mock exam, and the first real exam will be on September 19 against Italy and we are preparing for that,” he said.
Chief among the criticisms of Saint-Andre’s period in charge is that like Lievremont he has chopped and changed his lineups, no more so than with the halfback partnerships, which number 17 different variations in the 40 Tests he has taken charge of.
However, if the past two games are a guide, then the axis of Toulon duo scrumhalf Sebastien Tillous-Borde and mercurial Frederic Michalak will start against Italy, having filled those roles in the wins against England and Scotland.
Michalak — who thrust himself onto the world stage at the 2003 World Cup, though his star lost a bit of its brilliance when he went to pieces in the semi-final defeat to England — has retained Saint-Andre’s faith despite ongoing worries about his ability to disappear in tough games.
Certainly he will be one area that the battle-hardened Italians will target and the Irish too will lick their lips at the thought of unsettling him early on if he makes it through to the final pool game, which could decide who tops the table.
That will be crucial as the runner-up are most likely to face a quarter-final against the All Blacks — who might quake at the thought of les tricolores having lost to them twice in knockout games — with the No. 1 pool D side facing probably Argentina, who are no pushovers themselves and have beaten both Ireland and France in previous World Cups.
Saint-Andre, who is to hand over the reins to legendary Toulouse coach Guy Noves, remains convinced that the disappointments of the past four years will not be repeated over the coming two months.
“One has to go there with the enthusiasm of the top of the class, as well as an unbelievable hunger and determination,” Saint-Andre said. “There is no brake in our hands, no limits to be respected.”
“We are progressing, we are content with the what we are doing and we will prepare ourselves to win the World Cup, even if I will not say to you that we will be world champions,” he said.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS