France keen on England link-up
France are ready to revive the
entente cordiale in rugby union by forming a training collaboration with old enemies england in the run-up to next year’s World cup. Tomorrow in Paris, Jacques Brunel’s side will aim to shatter english hopes of retaining the Six nations. But there could be future co-operation between the countries even though they will be pool rivals at the 2019 showpiece in Japan. eddie Jones has organised sessions for his players with Wales and Georgia this season and
Sportsmail can reveal that France would be open to a similar arrangement. ‘I am oK with it — to work together and improve together,’ said French federation president Bernard laporte, in an exclusive interview. ‘If you want to win the World cup you have to improve. It is a very good idea. Jacques Brunel would be oK with that idea. He has an open mind.’
IN THE early years of the Six Nations, England v France was the highlight — a clash of the European superpowers.
Sportsmail columnist
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD was in charge of England and his counterpart was BERNARD
LAPORTE, the head coach then and now president of the French union. This week, the old foes were reunited ahead of tomorrow’s big match in Paris. Rugby Correspondent
CHRIS FOY referees the bout...
WOODWARD: Do you remember our first match against each other?
LAPORTE: It was 2000. We won easily in Wales but then we lost at the Stade de France against England. Jonny Wilkinson had arrived by then.
WOODWARD: We had lost to South Africa in a World Cup quarter-final in 1999. I survived and kept my job, so that was a really important game for me and England. To go to Paris and win was massive.
LAPORTE: What I remember is Jonny making a big tackle on Emile Ntamack just before half time. Oof! I was walking down the steps to the changing room thinking: ‘Oh, Wow!’
WOODWARD: I remember that, too. I think we bumped into each other in the tunnel and we both looked at each other as if to say: ‘Wow!’
LAPORTE: Before that we used to say: ‘Run at the No 10 because the No 10 doesn’t tackle.’ Jonny did!
WOODWARD: You worked with Wilkinson at Toulon and made him captain. One day, I saw him in the changing room at half-time, speaking French to the team and I thought: ‘ That is not the Jonny Wilkinson I knew!’
LAPORTE: When I asked Jonny to be captain, he said no. I said: ‘You have to be captain, because you are an example to us. You are God for the other players in the team.’ Then he became captain and was no good at 10. He stopped thinking about his own game. He said to me: ‘I have to stop. I can’t be captain.’ I said: ‘ No, you have to keep going’ and he learned how to do the two jobs. When we had a semi-final against Racing, when he spoke to the players in French, it was incredible.
WOODWARD: We always had good games between England and France. In that era, we won the World Cup and Grand Slam in 2003, but in 2002 and 2004, your France team won the Slam. I always saw France as the big threat. You had Betsen, Magne, Harinordoquy, Pelous, Galthie — all very good players.
LAPORTE: It was a good rivalry. It was equal. For us, it was always the game of the year. You had the big lock, Johnson — he was very strong and other very good forwards like Dallaglio and Back. There was a very good scrum-half, Dawson — and there was Jonny. England had other good backs like Robinson and Greenwood, so they were a complete team and we knew what was coming. Clive and the players would speak in the newspapers and say this and this about France, about the game. They would say lots of things, but that is sport. We would also say things but it was all about respect. There was never the same feeling against Scotland or Wales. It was always different against England in the players’ hearts. The spirit was different. During the week, all the players were very focused.
WOODWARD: The game I learned most from when I was coaching England was that game we lost to your France team in Paris in 2002, when Betsen destroyed Wilkinson. I don’t think we lost a game after that, before the World Cup. France were really good and Betsen was amazing. We learned a lot about playing with two playmakers, because Betsen took Jonny out of the game. It was a really important moment for us.
FOY: What were relations like between you when you were coaching against each other?
LAPORTE: People said I didn’t like England, but I had a lot of respect for Clive and his team. Sure, five minutes before the game, when you are in the France changing room, before we play England, we say different things! But we always respect England. When I coached, I said to the players: ‘Okay, you don’t like England, me also, but we have to respect them.’
WOODWARD: When we were together after games, it was never a problem. It wasn’t the same with every coach, but I saw Bernard as my friend. Do you remember when I came to see you in Paris and asked you if we could train together? You said no back then, but do you think England and France could work together now?
LAPORTE: For me, I am okay with it, to work together and improve together. If you want to win the World Cup, you have to improve. I often say, when I play tennis, if I play against Yannick Noah, I improve, but if I play against my father, I won’t!
FOY: England have had training sessions with Wales and Georgia. Eddie Jones is keen to work with other teams. Would France be open to that? If Jacques Brunel came to you and said: ‘Eddie wants England to train with France’ would you agree?
LAPORTE: That is a very good idea. Jacques would be okay with that. He has an open mind. Before, with Guy Noves, I would say it was impossible, but with Jacques it would be possible. But when would we train? That is the problem.
WOODWARD: What has happened to French rugby union? What’s gone wrong?
LAPORTE: The problem is we have a lot of foreigners playing in France. When I coached Toulon, we won the European Cup three times and people said: ‘French rugby is okay — Toulon is winning.’ But we only had five French players. When I see the papers, I see Kaino is going to Toulouse and Messam is going to Toulon. We have to stop that. French players who are 20 cannot play. It is a big problem. I want only five foreigners in the 23. No more. If we can do this, the French team will improve. Our Under 18 and Under 20 teams win a lot. We beat Scotland and Ireland,
It’s a very good idea, I’m OK with it LAPORTE ON TRAINING WITH ENGLAND
LAPORTE ON HIS FIRST GAME WITH SIR CLIVE I remember Jonny making a big tackle. Oh wow. Oof! We have too many foreigners playing here
but after you see the Scottish and Irish players going up (to senior level), but our players don’t move.
WOODWARD: But don’t young players learn and improve if they work with top foreign players?
LAPORTE: Here is an example. At Marcoussis ( national training centre) we have the boys — Under 18s and Under 20s — training together, but they don’t improve. When the No 10 at Toulon, Belleau, trained with Matt Giteau and Jonny Wilkinson, he improved. So that is good for the young players, but they have to also play for their club, to keep improving.
WOODWARD: So you have to work hard with the clubs to make them change? LAPORTE: Yes. They don’t all agree but the France team never win so now the sport is going down. The young people don’t want to play rugby if France always lose. We have to change together. It cannot be me against the president of every club. We have to keep some foreign
players who are very good and help our young players. But we have to limit the number of foreigners and limit the games for international players. For eight years, we haven’t won (the Six Nations title), so we have to change.
WOODWARD: I still watch French rugby and see a lot of good players. You must have at least six or seven really good scrum-halves.
LAPORTE: There are some positions, like No 9, where we have a lot of good players, but we don’t have No 10s. At most clubs, the No 10s are foreigners. At No 3, most of the players are foreigners too — Georgians, Argentinians. In some positions, we don’t have French players. Jacques knows this, but he can’t change it now and he knows he has to win. WOODWARD: When I was playing, games against France were at the Parc des Princes. It was a very different stadium to the Stade de France. LAPORTE: I loved it at the Parc des Princes. It was scary for foreign players. It was a cathedral for us. WOODWARD: I won my first full cap there and it was scary. The Stade de France is not the same. LAPORTE: It is different. It is very open. The crowd are far away. I prefer the Parc des Princes — it was good for us. FOY: What happened to plans for a national stadium outside Paris? Why was that scrapped? LAPORTE: We can’t pay for it. It was impossible. I didn’t understand this plan. It was all politics. We have the Stade de France. We have 80,000 spectators. It is good. It does not have the spirit of the Parc des Princes, but it is a good stadium and we have to play there. FOY: But you don’t own it? Part of the reason England are strong is because the RFU make so much money from owning their stadium, with its own hotel. Do you need to match that to compete?
LAPORTE: Sure, but after 2025, the French federation want to put capital into the stadium. We are talking about that now. Not only us (rugby federation) but we have some partners, too. We want to organise the stadium for rugby, football, music. We want to put capital into the stadium and
LAPORTE ON WHY FRANCE ARE STRUGGLING
around it we want to make more commercial activities.
WOODWARD: Did you consider a foreigner to coach France and would you consider a non-French coach in future like Warren Gatland or Joe Schmidt?
LAPORTE: It is not a problem. It is a professional sport and my job is to make the French team better. When I had to make the decision with Guy Noves (to dismiss him) it was not easy. But we couldn’t continue like this, with the players saying: ‘If I am not selected for the French team, it is not a problem.’ It should be a problem. When I made that decision about Noves, I said: ‘ Why not a foreign coach?’ We had a meeting and I spoke about Clive and a lot of people. But the problem was that three weeks after, we begin (preparing for the Six Nations), so it was very difficult. What is important in France is that the national coach has to speak with the Toulon coach and the La Rochelle coach and the Clermont coach. It was too difficult for a foreigner, because we had no time. But after the World Cup, it is not impossible that there will be a foreign head coach of France.
FOY: Brunel has dropped players who were involved in a controversial night out in Edinburgh last month — do you support his hardline approach on this?
LAPORTE: It is very important. He took this decision and I said to him: ‘I agree with you.’ As the coach, he decides. The ethic is very important.
WOODWARD: Million-dollar question — who’s going to win?
LAPORTE: Nobody can say for sure. Nobody said Scotland can beat England. They said it was impossible, but Scotland won. France had a good game against Italy, but there have been a lot of injuries. England can’t lose again. There is big pressure on England, but they are a very strong team and Eddie is a very good coach. New Zealand and England are the best teams in the world. I hope France will win, but I don’t know. It will be close.