England are now mental test for us says Brunel
JACQUES Brunel admitted France face a significant mental test as they look to bounce back from throwing away victory against Wales when they meet England on Sunday.
Les Bleus were 16-0 at half time at the Stade de France, but Warren Gatland’s Wales came roaring back to win 24-19 and seal the biggest comeback in their country’s history.
It was yet another narrow defeat for Brunel’s men and they look a side short of confidence at key moments. Next up for them is a trip to Twickenham.
“We are going to try to keep the spirits up in spite of the disappointment,” said France head coach Brunel. “We are going to try to work on what was positive during the match because I believe there were some good points. We are going to try to focus on that.
“We also have to improve our control which we definitely lacked and we are going to retain what was positive because we are going to face England and that’s a big challenge.
“England is as difficult a challenge as Wales. We have to find a way to come back. This is going to be a mental test.”
France were in control through tries from Louis Picamoles and Yoann Huget. Camille Lopez booted six points, but his team should have been further clear as Morgan Parra missed three kicks.
They proved costly as Wales rose from the dead. Tomos Williams started the recovery and then Huget failed to collect a Hadleigh Parkes kick ahead which allowed George North to score.
North intercepted Sebastien Vahaamahina’s awful pass to race clear for Wales’ crucial winner.
It left France winger Huget a disappointed figure as he admitted his howler was crucial.
“Mistakes are things that happen and with the weather conditions it was not that easy. Sometimes you are just not able to hold the ball,” the Toulouse winger said.
“You can drop it and make a mistake, but hopefully it won’t happen again. We were focused on the game, but we are all really frustrated of course.
“We were winning the game and we thought that Wales were maybe not that good. They were definitely stronger in the second half, but they made many mistakes in the first half. They couldn’t keep hold of the ball.
“In the second half they changed strategy, they wanted to get closer to us, and they made sure they weren’t just defending.”
Brunel added: “Overall this was a good game. The Wales defence is probably the best in Europe and still we put them under pressure.
“Yoann had the ball, let go of it, and Wales scored a try. It has never happened to him before and it will probably never happen again.”