A frenchman’s view: Le problème avec les Blues

The two tests played in Brisbane and Melbourne have shown two faces of France; inconsistancy and reaction through pride.

Despite three poor consecutive Six Nations tournaments, tasteless tours home and abroad, Philippe Saint André (PSA) and his staff do not seem to understand that France is late in its preparation for the 2015 World Cup. It was similarly the case before the 2011 World Cup, but the miracle of that final has been washed away by this feeling of inconsistancy in the French minds. Now the situation seems even worse as very few leaders and key players remain on the squad.

Even the “reaction through pride” that has been a trademark for France does not work anymore was was shown last weekend in Melbourne. Unfortunately the players seemed happy with that reaction despite the loss – claiming that they have replied to the “lack of respect” of the Wallabies in Brisbane. Now losing a game is acceptable!

PSA is also claiming that France is still one of the strongest teams in the world – almost beating the All Blacks last November (loss 19-26 in Saint Denis) and winning against England in February (with two lucky tries by Huget and many unexperimented players for the Poms). He seems to be the only one to believe that and is now running short of excuses.

These excuses have been common in French rugby for a long time, mostly because of the bipartite management system of high level rugby. The powerful and rich Top 14 clubs are ruled by the LNR (where they can’t even get along together) whereas the national team is directed by the FFR. Clubs do not care about Les Bleus – the development of young French players costs money without a certified return on investment. That’s why they prefer hiring token Super Rugby (or simply Currie Cup and ITM Cup) level players instead of trusting their academies. They now even pack their academies with kids from overseas in order to make them eligible for the JIFF status (players bred in France at least 3 years before they turn 21).

While supporters are happy with this, clubs have no need to change their attitude and will certainly continue with it after the World Cup as the rule to have at least 55% of JIFF players in each starting team is set to be declared illegal by the European Commission. People really believe a young player can learn training next to two stars, but I believe you learn only on the field! As Ewen McKenzie himself has said – young French players do not play enough. While the depth of French rugby players is pretty scarce, it is not the main reason of the current struggles of the XV de France.

When PSA states that because of the foreigners in the Top 14 he can’t find a decent fly half or prop, he forgets Francois Trinh Duc and Jules Plisson or Xavier Chiocci. The same happens for the scrum half position where Sébastien Tillous-Borde is still home whereas the savior is expected to be Rory Kockott, the Springboks fifth choice! Clearly talent management is a problem.

Top 14 is maybe a tough competition but the rythm is slow and skills are not polished enough. Because of this lack of rythm compared to Super Rugby, French players showed deficiencies in the quality of their movement, their repositioning and of course their support during the first test. We have also noticed an increase in the number of knock ons, forward or missed passes, faults that usually are made by kids. Too much time spent at the gym but not enough working on the skills, playing sevens or touch rugby.

Patrice Lagisquet is the current backs coach of Les Bleus and many people believe he is responsible for the poverty of the French attack. France has inherited the attack he developped with his former team Biarritz, an attack which has led the club to the second division! France also lost its standing on the set pieces like the line out and of course the scrum. If the performances of Rabah Slimani and Alex Menini in Melbourne can give us some hope, we are no longer a feared nation as other countries have really improved.

Finally PSA seems to have forgotten to work on the defence of the squad. Since David Ellis’ departure in 2011 after 10 years working with the various staff, the quality of the defence is falling and, except Thierry Dusautoir of course, the backrow is not what it used to be. A player like Yannick Nyanga should be starting every game but he is inexplicably confined to the bench or replaced quickly when he is not simply in the stands.

France has reacted once after Brisbane… it won’t react twice. I am pretty sure the Wallabies will be more prepared and that France will come back home with three losses like last year in New Zealand. And fans will wait for luck and miracles in England for the World Cup.