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The French word for ambush, since you’re asking, is embuscade. It’s certainly something worth considering ahead of Les Chanticleers clash with Samoa on Sunday in Warrington, a game that is shaping up to be something of a dilemma for rugby league fans.
On the one hand, Samoa winning would provide us with a real tournament highlight in the quarter finals, assuming Tonga defeat the Cook Islands on Monday to top their group and set up a Pacific Derby. The pregame cultural ceremonies alone would sell the stadium out.
On the other, France are the ultimate darlings of the international footy fan, a permanent symbol of the sport’s underdog, rebel spirit and a side committed to flair play, completion rates be damned.
If they win, it’ll be a huge piece of narrative ahead of their hosting the next edition in 2025, not to mention the reams of column inches to be filled by an early Samoan exit.
France have had a strange run so far: they were as good as they needed to be against Greece, playing in a controlled manner and conceding only to two miracle plays.
Against England, they were beaten by a better side, but still showed plenty of their characteristic endeavour and might have been closer to the old foe than 42-18 scoreline suggested.
The meeting with Samoa could be anything. It’s a team with all the talent but a poor coach against a team with exceptional coaching but lesser quality.
The French weapon might be that they know everything about the Samoans – but the Samoans might not know everything about them.
Only one of their players has ever featured in the NRL, and it’s unlikely that Jarome Luai et al are getting up in the middle of the night to watching Catalans Dragons games on Kayo.
On top of that, they boast two true wildcards in Arthur Morgue, who will play six, and Tony Gigot, the Toulouse maverick who will switch to fullback for the Samoa games.
They have an inside man, too. Samisoni Langi is their only player with NRL experience, having featured for the Roosters before moving to Europe, eventually settling in Perpignan and qualifying for France on residency.
“We can cause an upset,” he told The Roar. “The style of play that the boys play here, they love to play ad lib footy, eyes up and they’ll take on the line. If they see something open up, they’ll go for it. Take a guy like Arthur Morgue: he’s a young French talent, raw but with a lot of skills. He’s quick off the mark.
“We have to stick to the game plans that the coaching staff put down for us. If we stick to that, we’ll be in pretty good stead to get the win over Samoa. Both Laurent and Robbo have such knowledge and understanding of the game, and the way they’ve implemented the plans for us going forward is great.
“They’re going to try and come up the middle with their big boys and even their outside backs. Our boys watch the NRL so they know what to expect. We’ve got a couple of Samoan boys who play in the Super League too so we’ll know what to expect.
“We have to stick to it – it’s on us to win. We’re here to win, advance through to the quarters and go from there.”
Langi was born in Western Sydney, played for his Tongan heritage at the 2013 and 2017 World Cups and is now adjusting again to an entirely French-speaking group.
“It’s going pretty good,” he said. “Most of the boys can speak English and even the coaching staff too. Most of the time I can understand what they’re trying to get in the video sessions and training plans, so I understand most of it and go from there.
“It’s similar to the Catalans, because I’ve played with most of them over the last five years, plus some boys from Toulouse. It’s good to mix and mingle, to get to know everyone on a personal level.
“When I put the jersey on, I’m proud. I was humbled even to be selected into this squad. We’ve got some great players, especially the young ones coming through. The international jersey of France holds a special place to my family. Me and my wife had our kids in France, both our girls were born there.
“Every time I put the jersey on I make sure that I’m not only doing the French nation proud, I’m doing myself and my family proud.”