FRENCH LOOK TO BE IN DISARRAY... SO THE ONLY WAY IS UP FOR LES BLEUS
THE decline of what was a great rugby nation is a sad sight, with the swashbuckling cavaliers of old reduced to a rabble by succession o f inadequate coaches and the domination of their game by players from overseas. Measures are in place to address both concerns, the former by replacing Guy Noves with Jacques Brunel last month. A dreadful autumn in which they narrowly escaped losing to Japan means the only way is up. COACH: JACQUES BRUNEL WAS parachuted into the post when Noves got the chop. The 64-yearold Frenchman coached Italy from 2011-2016. He is hugely experienced, having guided Colomiers to a Heineken Cup final, and having had stints with Pau, Perpignan and, most recently, France’s best-supported club Bordeaux-Begles. CAPTAIN: GUILHEM GUIRADO HAS been retained by Brunel, who he worked with at Perpignan when they were a major force in European rugby, and is one of the best hookers
in world rugby. KEY MAN: KEVIN GOURDON THE La Rochelle openside flanker is an allaction presence and has lit up Europe’s Champions Cup and the French Top 14 with his pace around the field, work in the loose and at the breakdown. ROOKIE TO WATCH: MATTHIEU JALIBERT BRUNEL has picked the teenager, who only turned 19 last November, as a possible answer to the problems his predecessor Noves had finding an outside-half good enough to ignite the misfiring French backs. STRENGTHS FRANCE have been so poor in recent times it’s hard to pinpoint anything of note other than starting with a clean sheet under their new boss could be a spur.
They do have plenty of youth, with about half of Brunel’s 32-strong squad being 25 or younger and can be virtually guaranteed to field a physical pack. AREAS TO TARGET IRELAND will look to put pressure on the French No.10, likely to be Jalibert or Toulon’s inexperienced Anthony Belleau, in the tournament opener.
Twenty-one-year-old Belleau was given a torrid time by the Scarlets at Llanelli in the Champions Cup with his error-count mounting up. KEY INJURIES CLERMONT Auvergne scrum-half general Morgan Parra, who hasn’t played for France since the 2015 World Cup, has been sidelined by a knee injury and full-back Brice Dulin by a calf problem. LAST TIME OUT WERE booed off by disgruntled supporters following a 23-23 draw with minnows Japan in Paris, a result which was to get former Toulouse coach Noves the chop. ORDER OF GAMES Ireland (h), Scotland (a), Italy (h), England (h), Wales (a), WHAT THE COACH SAYS “WE’RE fully focused on the first match, but we’ll try to be contenders. The first thing we have to do is create a common ambition, a common story where we feel at ease.” WHAT MOOD ARE THE FANS IN DESPERATE! France are going through their worst period in the professional era, winning a dismal three of their 11 Tests in 2017 and scoring a paltry 18 tries. POINT TO PROVE: BAPTISTE SERIN YOUNGSTER Serin was a shock omission, but has earned a reprieve following the injury suffered by Parra. DID YOU KNOW FRENCH Rugby Federation headquarters were raided by police this week in an operation believed to be in relation to investigations into the union’s president Bernard Laporte, a former coach of Les Bleus. BOOKIES PREDICTION ODDS on the French being crowned Six Nations kings for the first time since 2010 are as long as 20/1. They are fifth in the betting with most organisations. WHAT WE SAY FRENCH rugby has suffered because the number of foreigners employed by its clubs has stifled the development of home-produced talent. It’s difficult to see the tide turning any time soon, with only Italy likely to finish below them.