‘It was crazy. Only France could do this’
RUGBY CORRESPONDENT in Tokyo uprising by the players to get their campaign back on track. The fact that they faced England, their arch Le Crunch adversary, helped bring them together.
“Yes, it did, it really focused our minds,” Yachvili said. “From the Monday of that week we wanted to play on the Tuesday. It was that much on our mind. We had that motivation burning in us. We felt angry, angry against the world, but, above all, angry with ourselves. We wanted to show what our true selves looked like, to give a better impression. We were not scared to play England at this time. It was perfect for us.
“We were the pretenders to the throne, the underdog. Everyone said that we were bad, that we had no chance, that there was no future for us. We were written off by everybody, so it was the perfect scenario, just perfect. We shocked England. We could see that in their eyes. They couldn’t believe what was happening to them.”
There is an air of familiarity hanging over this latest France squad. They need to find the sort of solidarity that Yachvili and his team-mates managed through soul-searching and straight-talking eight years ago. There was talk back then that head coach Marc Lievremont had been usurped by player power, but Yachvili reveals that it was more profound than that.
“It was crazy,” Yachvili said. “Only France could do a World Cup like this. We are the only team to lose two games in the pool yet get to the final. When I look back on this time it is with shame because we lost against Tonga. It was not a good vision of French rugby. As players, we were very happy to do this revolution. It was more general than just a revolt against Marc, the coach.
“Sure, there were a few problems, but they were no different to how other teams operate, contesting things, arguing a bit. We had a lot of players over 30 years of age in that squad, guys who had been around, seen rugby and life. Thierry Dusautoir was one. William Servat, Imanol Harinordoquy, Aurelien Rougerie – big characters. We knew that it was our last World Cup so we knew we had to do something, almost anything. We knew we hadn’t played very well in the pool games, sure, but we were still alive and we could still trust in our chances by having a revolution. We like going beyond the rules in France. That is who we are.
“We are a country of revolution. We were tight, the 30-man squad, all together, a solid block. Our backs were against the wall and we had to face the challenge. We knew what we had to do.”
And they did. Yachvili was speaking before news of the latest reputed turmoil in camp broke, but wonders if this generation has the necessary hard-headed experience to take control of their own destiny.
“They are young guys in this squad, good guys but I am not sure that they can bring about the revolution,” Yachvili said. “We had generals in our squad. If there are
‘We had generals in our squad. If there are only soldiers you can’t do it’
only soldiers you can’t have a revolution.”
The former long-standing scrum-half at Biarritz had his first formative experience as a professional at Gloucester, where he spent a season in 2001-02 after being signed by Philippe Saintandre. Yachvili had a remarkably productive output in his eight Tests against England, scoring all the points in the surprise 18-17 victory at Twickenham in 2005, a year after contributing 19 points in a 24-21 Grand Slam win in Paris.
“Le Crunch was always Le Crunch for me and I hope it will always be a special game,” Yachvili said, who harbours no ill feeling towards Les Rosbifs. “My friends were always telling me that I should hate England like they do.
“But I learnt how to be a professional in England, how to train, how to be in condition, how they lived and breathed rugby. I have great respect for them. I know why England are hated by some of my countrymen, because they have what we haven’t got – discipline, rigour and respect for the game plan. But we also have maybe what they don’t have – audacity, trusting our instincts. Perhaps, we are fake enemies.”