Six Nations team-by-team guide and match schedule
NEW Les Bleus boss Philippe Saint-Andre has set himself a daunting Six Nations challenge – to stop his team being so French!
The former Test winger wants an end to the renowned inconsistency that has been the trademark of the Gallic national side down the ages.
That erratic ‘Which France will turn up?’ nature was perfectly demonstrated at the World Cup. Les Bleus lost to Tonga in the group stage – a performance described as “ridiculous” by skipper Thierry Dusautoir – only to come within a whisker of lifting the Webb Ellis trophy.
“At the World Cup, we played some rubbish games and some fantastic matches,” said Saint-Andre.
“The aim is to be consistent, not to be French, where one day you are up here and one day down there.
“That has been French rugby for the last four years – for the last 100 years. The challenge is to be consistent.
“I hope we will see the work ethic and spirit we showed in the last three weeks of the World Cup.
“If we show the spirit we showed against Tonga, it will be a tough Six Nations for us!”
The fixtures are kind this year for France as they look to follow their World Cup runners-up spot by proving they are the best team in Europe.
They begin with back to back home games against Italy and Ireland, before going to Scotland.
France then meet new-look England in Paris, before winding up with what they hope will be a potential Grand Slam decider in Cardiff against Wales.
Their search for greater consistency is likely to be aided by the appointment of Saint-Andre in place of the madcap Marc Lievremont, who went through players like there was no tomorrow and seemed to completely lose his dressing room – or whatever the French translation is – during the World Cup.
Saint-Andre, 44, is a seasoned coach, having had spells at the helm of Gloucester, Bourgoin, Sale and Toulon, and his initial selection certainly seems to indicate someone who knows what they are doing and an end to the experimentation of the Lievremont era.
His quest for consistency is summed up by the inclusion of 14 of the starting line-up from the World Cup final in his 23-man squad for next Saturday’s championship opener at home to the Italians.
Wing Alexis Palisson is the solitary casualty, with Clermont’s in-form Julien Malzieu preferred.
Another Clermont back, centre Wesley Fofana, is one of two uncapped players, with Toulouse lock Yoann Maestri.
There is also an end to the Lievremont legacy of using scrum-half Morgan Parra at fly-half in order to fit him and Dimitri Yachvili into the team.
In a return to more regular rugby thinking, the richly-gifted Parra will be considered only as a No 9, while Toulouse’s Lionel Beauxis has been recalled to contest the No 10 spot with fellow specialist François Trinh-Duc.
World Player of the Year Dusautoir continues as skipper and will have a huge role to play in Saint-Andre’s opinion.
“We have a fantastic leader in Thierry,” he said. “It wasn’t by luck that he was the best player in the world last year.
“The players follow him and for a coach it is very important to have a leader like this that has a lot of character.”
As for the spirit within the camp following the much-publicised World Cup rifts, Saint-Andre quipped: “We haven’t had any arguments for the last three days!”
If France do get consistency to go with their playing gifts, the rest of Europe had better watch out.
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Article source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2012/01/28/six-nations-preview-new-france-coach-philippe-saint-andre-looking-to-make-his-team-less-french-91466-30205793/
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