Les Bleus shrug off police raid

NEW France coach Jacques Brunel insists offfield chaos will not stop his players from launching a Six Nations resurrection.

Les Bleus have been in freefall in recent years, having failed to finish in the top two since 2011.

Recent struggles have been compounded by the sacking of coach Guy Noves and police raids on French federation president Bernard Laporte.

‘This is happening on the sidelines but it has no influence on our match preparations whatsoever,’ Brunel insisted.

‘We have changed the staff and the squad. It is a new environment with new energy and we hope to have a new synergy.

‘Right now, the first objective is to start winning matches again and build confidence. I want people to say: “OK, France can win this tournament”.’

Brunel was only drafted in last month to replace Noves, who failed to record a single victory in the autumn Tests.

‘It’s difficult to say what the problem has been,’ said Brunel. ‘Probably our resources have not been managed properly but I don’t want to dwell on the past. I want to shape the new team so we can start winning again.

‘We need to give the best image of our game and show what we’re capable of doing. Each tournament is a new story. No one knows who will win. That’s the beauty of it.’