Fofana loss won’t stop Noves going on attack
NICK VERDIER finds that France coach will continue his search for finesse not power
Guy Noves succeeded in his first mission to put a smile back on French fans but he has now challenged his players to find their killer instinct and transform narrow losses into Six Nations wins.
With the most successful French coach of all time finally being handed the reins of the national team on the back of the last World Cup, constant disillusion quickly became hope – hope for a French team competing against the best nations in the world with a game based on finesse as much as power.
This is how Noves won ten French championships and four European Cups in his 24-year stint with Toulouse and it didn’t take long to see his vision implemented on the pitch with an ambition rarely witnessed under Philippe Saint-Andre or Marc Lievremont.
Aside from the three consecutive defeats that tarnished opening wins over Italy and Ireland in the Six Nations, the change of regime was obvious to see. Players started to look for space, stay on their feet and play with an urgency that kept the tempo high.
A summer tour of Argentina without their best players gave Noves the opportunity to test the depth of his squad but it was in November that it all appeared to come together.
The new convention between the league and the Federation was signed which gave Noves and his staff greater access to the players and it showed.
A fine attacking display put Samoa to the sword before they took both Australia and New Zealand to the wire.
The fans had faith again and the customary boos turned into cheers but numbers don’t lie and France only won four of their ten games last year giving Noves, below, a worst record than Saint-Andre (six wins) and Lievremont (five wins) in his first year in charge.
“To give the French team its identity back was my priority so from that point of view 2016 was a good year,” Noves exclusively told The Rugby Paper. “We wanted to put a smile back on our fans’ faces but if we want that to continue we have to become more efficient and start winning games.
“We made more breaks than the All Blacks in November and we were the best team in that area in the Six Nations but we didn’t score enough from these.
“What we lack right now is that killer instinct to make sure we go away with points when we’re inches from the try-line.
“I don’t know or even trust any other rugby than one with movement where players look for space and getting the players to trust my system was the first step for me and my staff.
“I want that way of thinking to be engrained in them and I can tell you that we won’t change the way we want to play while I’m in charge.”
The linchpin in the Noves strategy quickly became centre Wesley Fofana who was soon as effective on the Test scene as he’d been with Clermont for years.
Whether it was turning defence into offence, sparking a static attack into life, or being in support of the forwards behind the defensive line, most of what France did well involved Fofana.
So it was huge blow for Les Bleus to see the mercurial centre limp off the field against Exeter in the Champions Cup last weekend with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Henry Chavancy from Racing 92 was called up but he, too, picked up a knock and had to pull out less than 24 hours after being included in the squad. Running out of choices, Noves had to pick Toulon powerhouse Mathieu Bastareaud, despite refusing to do so in 2016, explaining the 19st monster didn’t fit his vision.
He added: “Picking a player like Mathieu might suggest we’re going away from what we want to do but he has used his time away to think about what we expect from him and he understands it.
“He knows exactly what I want from him and he knows what he’s got to do to meet those expectations. I never heard him complain when I didn’t pick him. He’s very happy to get back involved with the team.
“We had some injuries in midfield and I simply couldn’t ignore his performances with Toulon. I’d be lying if I said he’s a different player. He remains a very powerful centre who gets you over the gainline. For now he’s just in the squad but if I include him in the matchday squad I believe he’ll deliver.”
France will start their Six Nations campaign next week as they ended the 2016 tournament by taking on England.
That day, Eddie Jones’ men claimed a Grand Slam in Paris so Noves knows it won’t be easy at Twickenham, saying: “England will be a tough start but so will the Scots in Paris the following week. They beat us at Murrayfield last year. Then we have Ireland in Dublin so all the games will be tough.
“We played the Wallabies and the All Blacks in our last two games. We didn’t shy away from the challenge then so we won’t now.”