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France coach Marc Lievremont has denied he was out to provoke England ahead of their Six Nations showdown at Twickenham on Saturday.
The former backrower said at the weekend he “disliked” the “insular” English and said his views were shared by every other participating nation in the tournament – Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Italy.
His comments were shrugged off by English counterpart Martin Johnson as part-and-parcel of the hype that comes with such a big game as Saturday’s clash is expected to decide who will win this year’s tournament.
Lievremont said he had read Johnson’s reactions and insisted he had not been out to stir up bad feeling ahead of the match.
“I had no intention of provoking them,” Lievremont said at the French training centre near Paris.
“I was just putting into words something that is quite clear – that the Celtic countries do not greatly appreciate the English.
“In fact I think it is a complement for the English because I think they are proud of being different from the others.
“They cultivate this nationalistic sentiment in the proper sense of the term. It is something they have that we envy.
“Even if we do not always understand each other, above all else, we have respect for this team.”
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