Parra does not hold back

– France’s preparations for their Six Nations clash against England failed to include the most basic elements of rugby, said scrumhalf Morgan Parra (above) following his side’s 44-8 thrashing at Twickenham on Sunday.

France conceded six tries and Parra’s words were damning.

“We are capable of doing what the English do, but are we working on this at training? I think we don’t work on it enough, even not at all,” the 30-year-old said.

France were all the more exposed that coach Jacques Brunel fielded two centres – Damian Penaud and Gael Fickou – on the wings and a winger – Yoann Huget – at fullback.

The trio were therefore not equipped to deal with England’s 47 kicks, despite edging total possession with 53% of the ball.

“Their kicking game was world class,” said fullback Thomas Ramos, who only came on for the second half, where France limited the damage after reaching the interval 30-8 down.

England played in the empty spaces and France had no response for that simple strategy.

While the hosts’ kicks were chased by hungry backs, France’s were purely defensive and were almost always on the back foot.

“It’s hard to find solutions after such a game,” Mathieu Bastareaud conceded after France suffered their worst defeat to England since 1911.

“After such a masterclass, we all need to question ourselves. From A to Z,” said Parra.

With the title already well out of their reach, a battered Les Bleus must now avoid defeat against Scotland at the Stade de France on February 23 if they do not want to play a “wooden spoon” clash in Rome against Italy in their last outing. –