- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
France’s erratic form at the Rugby World Cup has won them few admirers, but the confidence of the players remains intact heading into Sunday’s final against hot favourites New Zealand.
France reached the final despite losing two pool matches and showing no kind of invention in their scrappy semi-final win against Wales, hanging on to win 9-8 against a team playing without sent-off captain Sam Warburton for an hour.
Flair has long been considered a trademark in French teams, but even that has gone at this tournament, replaced by a rigid defence and an emphasis on kicking, not running, out of trouble.
Given all this, and that the odds are stacked in unbeaten New Zealand’s favour because of their impressive form, especially in the semi-final defeat of Australia, it would be easy to dismiss France’s chances.
The French players views these things as positive omens.
“It’s crazy, we’re the only team in the history of rugby to lose two pool matches and reach the final,” France prop Fabien Barcella said. “We’re a team that cultivates contrasts.”
France’s lowest point came after losing back-to-back games, 37-17 to New Zealand and 19-14 to Tonga to conclude the pool stage.
The Tonga defeat was met with a mixture of fierce criticism and derision, and summed up how far the team had fallen. Over the past 12 months, France has been thrashed at home 59-16 by Australia, suffered heavy defeats in Argentina and South Africa, and lost to Italy in the Six Nations Championship.
These defeats, however, seem now to have heightened the resolve of the team.
“We’ve taken some hidings, maybe we’ve come out of it stronger mentally,” said Barcella, who has drawn inspiration from Italy’s run to the title at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
“After the defeat (to Tonga) in Wellington, I said that when the Italian football team played badly for three matches and they still managed to be world champions.”
What makes the French team so dangerous for New Zealand is the way it reacted from that Tonga defeat, summoning up pride and passion to beat England after racing to a 16-0 halftime lead in a performance that defied form as well as logic.
“I think if we had beaten Tonga we would have lost to England, that’s for sure. That’s the French way,” prop Jean-Baptiste Poux said.
“The Tonga defeat did us the world of good, the whole squad became aware that rugby is above all a combat sport and that’s what we showed against the English.”
The public and media criticism at home and abroad has also served as a spur.
“The players have been laughing a lot at the headlines for a while now,” France coach Marc Lievremont said. “That’s helped them pull together as well.”
The minds of the New Zealand players are too imprinted with the memories of past defeats to take the French lightly.
While the All Blacks dispatched Australia 20-6 on Sunday night to reach the final, and beat the French convincingly in the very first World Cup final in 1987, history is not on their side against France since then.
France is an old hand at confounding logic at World Cups – twice rallying to beat the All Blacks in an epic 1999 semifinal and in the quarterfinal four years ago.
“You can’t fall asleep against the French. On their day they can turn up and destroy everyone, so we’ll be watching that,” New Zealand winger Cory Jane said. “We’ve got to work hard this week so that when it comes to game time we don’t give them a chance, try and suffocate them.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.