France are in no better shape going into the 2015 Rugby World Cup than they were going into the last one.
Philippe Saint-André has proven to be an awful appointment as head coach. His lack of anything even resembling competency is evident in his inconsistent selections, apparent lack of a coherent game plan, as well as his players’ poor execution of skills and lack of motivation.
His inconsistent selections have meant that France have no ‘base’ group of players to build a squad around. Tactically, they are playing the wrong game.
Saint-André has indicated in several interviews that he places emphasis on winning games through dominance up front, and it is obvious by what his team are doing on the pitch that they have very little in their tactical armoury.
During the 2014 Six Nations Championship, their entire game plan was based on sticking it up the jumper and looking to run over the opposition, either in-close through Louis Picamoles, or out wide through Mathieu Bastareaud.
The problem with this approach to the game from a French point of view is that there has been a drop in the quality of the forwards that are at Saint-André’s disposal in comparison to those which were available to Marc Lièvremont at the last World Cup, at least in some positions.
William Servat was a level above both Dimitri Szarzewski and Benjamin Kayser in terms of subtlety and class, as well as being superior to both in the technical aspects of hooker play. Lionel Nallet had better skill and aggression levels than the overrated Yoann Maestri, despite the latter’s advantage in terms of height and bulk.
Yannick Nyanga, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Bernard Le Roux, and Alexandre Lapandry are decent Test-level flankers, but they don’t have the international pedigree of Julien Bonnaire. Thierry Dusautoir’s fitness going into the World Cup is crucial for France.
As for No. 8, there is no comparison between the 2011 Imanol Harinordoquy and either Picamoles or Damien Chouly. Chouly is a decent all-rounder who performs consistently well at club level, but Harinordoqoy was in another league to him.
Picamoles is a destructive ball-carrier in close to the ruck, but in most games he tends to make a big carry, and then disappear for a significant portion of the game, before getting onto the ball again.
One of Harinordoquy’s best qualities was his ability to be everywhere in games even at the highest level. And while Picamoles is a good carrier, he is inferior to Harinordoquy in terms of lineout ability (Picamoles is quite heavy to lift whereas Harinordoquy is one of the best lineout back rowers of his generation).
He also loses out when controlling the ball at the back of the scrum, and tackling (Harinordoquy’s tackles are more frequent and significantly more influential despite him being lighter than Picamoles).
When it comes to ruck time, Harinordoquy is a skilful enough scavenger to warrant selection at openside flanker in some of his previous games at Test level, whereas Picamoles is largely anonymous in this facet of the game.
Instead of just looking to bash teams up front, France should be trying to play a back line oriented game with an incorporation of traditional French flair, as this is the area of the game where they have an edge over most teams.
They are not helped in this department by Saint-André’s revolving-door selection policy, especially at halfback. France’s back line (injury permitting) should be as follows.
9. Maxime Machenaud, 10. Rémi Talès, 11. Maxime Médard, 12. Wesley Fofana, 13. Gaël Fickou, 14. Yoann Huget, 15. Brice Dulin.
France are hindered by the number of foreign out-halves plying their trade in the Top 14 for lucrative contracts, but Talès appears to be the best all-round No. 10 that they have at the moment. He is probably the only out-half in France who is a consistent, competent game-manager and tactical kicker, and his ability to stand flat to the gain line is crucial to getting France’s back play going.
However, Camille Lopez has performed well in his recent outings for Clermont Auvergne and France, and could well overtake Talès if his good form continues.
Aside from being the form scrumhalf in France, Machenaud showed in the France-Ireland game in the 2014 Six Nations that he has quite a good understanding of Talès’ game despite the two not playing together at club level.
Fofana and Fickou are two of the most naturally gifted, skilful centres playing the game. Maxime Mermoz is a quality player, but he looks for contact far too often, and he doesn’t have the game-changing ability of Fofana or Fickou.
Despite being an excellent tackle-breaker, Bastareaud needs to be dropped from the French squad. His ability to make line breaks is offset by his poor passing skills and lack of awareness of those around him, both of which usually result in any momentum he creates being lost.
As for the back three, Médard and Huget complement each other well on the wings. Médard being a traditional winger with electric pace in the mould of the great counter-attacking backs of French rugby’s golden generation, while Huget is a more physical player with excellent footwork and aerial skills.
Dulin was one of the form fullbacks of the 2014 Six Nations, which is impressive considering the competition he faced in Luke McLean, Leigh Halfpenny, Stuart Hogg, Rob Kearney and Mike Brown.
Overall, the French players’ fitness levels are well short of what is required at Test level, which can be attributed to the attritional nature and packed schedule of the Top 14.
Poor fitness, allied with incompetent coaching, is the reason why France cannot retain structure over several phases, with tight forwards ending up in the out-half position once they get to the fourth or fifth phase.
Their woeful inconsistency was best characterised by their performances in the most recent November series, where they dismantled Fiji, beat Australia with an energetic performance where they displayed both power up front and flair out wide.
Yet that was followed up with a tactical implosion against Argentina a week later, where they were second best in terms of decision-making and implementation of the basic skills of the game.
Despite this, France usually perform better in the November series than they do in the Six Nations as the effects of Top 14 fatigue take more of a toll on their players as the season progresses.
From a World Cup point of view, this means that they will be rested after having the summer off, so their performances should be closer to what they produce in the November series rather than what they produce in the Six Nations.
The other factor that works in France’s favour is their puzzling ability to click and play brilliantly no matter what their previous form has been like. When they are in this mood, they raise their physicality to a completely different level.
Combinations that were previously awful suddenly look in sync, and all of their players seem to have a telepathic understanding of all of their teammates. They up the pace of the game, start throwing brilliant offloads, and it seems like there is no end to their supply of support runners.
If they are going to play like this during the pool stages, it will most likely be against Ireland, a team who they never seem to have a problem performing well against.
However, the confidence of the French team may be damaged badly if they do not raise their game sufficiently for next year’s Six Nations Championship, which includes difficult away games to England and Ireland.
Frenchy
Guest
Excellent article. Pretty much spot on. Who should be in / out of the team is a question which could be debated endlessly but the concerns you highlighted over the lack of coaching capability (they even had to get Serge Blanco out of retirement to chaperon St Andre), too many changes in the core of the team (at least 6 or 7 different scrum half / fly half combinations trialed in the last 2 years), an ageing leadership group and lack of depth in the rest of the team are valid concerns and obviously being portrayed on the field by dismal results. The French finished last for the first time ever in the 2014 edition of the 6 nations, 18 months before the next WC when they usually start to develop a strong identity as a group. It's not looking good for them at this stage and the Frenchy Rugby commentators , usually conservative, have jumped on the "getting carried away" bandwagon as theyhave propped up players like Fickou or Teddy Thomas to the rank of superstars. A sign of weakness and lack of belief in the existing squad.
Mike Breen
Roar Rookie
Parra, Lopez and Thomas will start for France. Forget about Fickou have you seen rougeriie play this year? I know he's old but he has been tearing it up. Defo the form 13 in the French top 14.
Harry Jones
Expert
SA has no mental hang ups ab beating England outside SA. The Boks have beaten ENG in SA (a lot) and in ENG (for quite a few years in a row) and in FR (twice en route to the 07 WC). And I would argue that SA will be tough for NZ in ENG. Good conditions for Meyer's plan; and time zone favours us.
Nobrain
Guest
I think France will make a run on pool stages but they wish for second place, they rather play NZ than Argentina. They do not want a remake of 2007. If they go ahead and get beaten by NZ it is expected and respectfull, but if they go down against Pumas it will be shame all over again.
Bakkies
Guest
'Over history they have won just over 50% and in the last 10 years of professionalism theyve won 60%. They have gone through a rough patch recently but most teams do, everything goes in circles.' It's the performances, no cohesion through selections and the fact that I think they have only won 3 out of their last 14 games which is really grating the French public. There are a load of empty seats at tests outside of the Six Nations and I can't blame them. I was surprised that they got a good crowd for the Wallabies test. The fact Christophe Lamaison is the highest French points scorer and he didn't reach 50 caps which is frankly ridiculous given the amount of test Rugby that is played. It's very difficult to get any kind of consistency when you are chopping and changing at 9 and 10.
Bakkies
Guest
Pelous was a poor choice for their under 20s. They should be pushing for the JWC title there given the emphasis on power, set piece and mauling at that level now to create a platform for the backs. Jobs for the boys is quiet prevalent in the Top 14. It's really brought Toulouse down the log now and their set piece is farcical. Their coaching set up consists of Servat, Ellisalde, Novés all old boys from within. The first two parachuted after just retiring.
Jerry
Guest
"Hardly funny that an article about France turns in to neediness from Kiwis about their team." This line of debate stemmed from a comment from a non Kiwi about hoping the AB's were eliminated. Keep up.
Bakkies
Guest
Every other country that doesn't use the 9 as the play maker. That's why France are so devoid of decision making flyhalfs. It's all down to the scrum half who then meerkats and turns quick ball in to slow ball. Lesgourgues is a 9 that puts pace on the ball and is one of the reasons why Bordeaux can play with width (the other 9 Serin is not bad at it either). He also spots space and runs at the right times. It also helps Bernard his flyhalf who I rate as a potential test player.
Bakkies
Guest
Is it that hard to comprehend that in cup tournaments that you aren't going to play every top team. Hardly funny that an article about France turns in to neediness from Kiwis about their team. So bloody be it if another country knocks out NZ.
Lion Down Under
Guest
Agree with all of that Bakkies. The main question about the England National Association Football Team isn't "why has the influx of top quality foreign players into the Premier League had a devastating effect on the National Team?" because it obviously hasn't but "why hasn't the team improved with its players playing in a far higher quality league?" I believe it is because the English players are overrated and the junior level coaching is so poor (brawn over skill). French rugby is finding its own way of doing things. The JIFF may help, it may not. They have had a run of poor national team coaches and, as you say, junior coaching could be vastly improved. These things are always cyclical. There is a certain irony in so many people from a country with 5 professional teams talking about lack of opportunity in a country with 30 pro teams.
JimmyB
Guest
Armand, England have been in three RWC finals.
canadiankiwi
Guest
The only team that can beat the All Blacks in the RWC is England because, whether you like it or not, referees greatly favour the home team (yes, the ABs benefit from this in NZ too). England is a threat to everyone as every 50/50 call, in every game, will go England's way. I would love the All Blacks to play France in the QFs as the All Blacks would be enormously motivated for that game and there would be no chance of Hansen taking France lightly like Henry so obviously did with his selections in 2007. South Africa are a very good team at home but there are, and have always been, a very beatable team away from the highveld.
canadiankiwi
Guest
You lost me as soon as you listed Australia winning its pool. I laughed and went straight to the next post. Then, I thought he must be having a laugh and read the whole post and then realized the author just wanted to post the most ridiculous results he could think of. There is no world in which Ireland and England reach the finals. Not even fantasy land.
Armand van Zyl
Roar Guru
But you can count on the French to be the French. And that is terrifying in a quarterfinal.
Not Bothered
Guest
Im not sure about this. French rugby has not declined greatly imo. Over history they have won just over 50% and in the last 10 years of professionalism theyve won 60%. They have gone through a rough patch recently but most teams do, everything goes in circles. The Top 14 has longer seasons than our top comps by about 4 months. There are many more French players at that top level than Australians or New Zealanders at our highest level. Everyone loves to point at the Premier League football and say "see look at England" but Germany and Spain have many foreign players in their leagues too and they have been dominating world football recently.
Harry Jones
Expert
Excellent !
Jerry
Guest
It's not meaningless, but it doesn't mean much.
Not Bothered
Guest
Not meaningless. The fact that France have beaten NZ 50% in knockout games and only lost by 1 to NZ in NZ in another suggests that NZ has struggled against the French when it is all on the line. It could mean little but Id say that it does mean something at least. France seems to be a difficult team for NZ to play at times and quite often France can lift against NZ and beat NZ which is not common for many teams around the world. The French are generally an underperforming side, they are not a great French side but by the WC I am guessing they will continue to improve. Im not saying France will be favs to beat NZ but I wouldnt be surprised if France give it a Red hot go, they have most other times.
Jerry
Guest
Yeah...I don't think that 3/4 playoff counts in anyone's books. The French played a B team for a start and there's nothing on the line in that match. Also, it wasn't "C the team that knocked the defending champs out went on to win" it was "every RWC winner has beaten the previous winner" - in 95 the Boks beat the Wallabies in pool play but it was the English who knocked the Wallabies out of the tournament.
Paul from Melbourne
Guest
The French might be able to do that, who knows until they play each other, if they are destined to meet. By the same token, Wobblies might be coming home after the pool games. There is a real chance of that too.