Today's
France-Ireland clash in Paris has already been tipped as a
potential championship decider, but the week-long war of
words in the build-up has continued with 'Les Bleus'
scrum-half Morgan Parra claiming the Irish are Europe's most
proficient cheats.
With the
likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Mathieu Bastareaud set for an
almighty midfield battle this is a match that needs no extra
hype, but the French appear to have launched an orchestrated
attack on the Irish this week, with former captain Lionel
Nallet having earlier dismissed Declan Kidney's team as
efficient rather than world-beating.
The
French are determined to halt Ireland's 12-match unbeaten
streak - boosting their own Grand Slam hopes in the process
- but Parra's attack was still somewhat surprising. It was
also sumptuously ironic, given the recent hullaballoo over
Thierry Henry's handball which ensured the Irish football
team failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Parra
claimed Ireland's rugby stars "cheat every weekend",
although he praised the efficacy in managing to get away
with it most of the time - a back-handed (or reverse pass)
compliment if ever there was one.
"They
have a great defence. (They're) cheating, but intelligently
cheating. It's very well done," said the Clermont Auvergne
player. "If we did the same thing we would be punished each
time," he added.
Parra's
comments have been widely reported in the press - and are
sure to have gained maximum coverage in Ireland - but they
do follow claims by Keith Earls earlier in the week that he
would not hesitate to cheat in Paris if it benefitted the
team. Indeed, this is a basic ethos of most professional
rugby teams, with the underlying belief that it's okay as
long as you can get away with it.
In that
regard Parra has merely verbalized what most players (and
teams) believe, but it was still something of a shock to see
it in print.
"We've
dissected the video very well. There's not a moment when
they're not cheating. They're the least penalised team in
the tournament, which is very impressive," said Parra.
But
while the verbal attacks from Nallet and Parra have proved
manna to headline-hungry media outlets - FRC not excepted -
the match itself is in no need of extra hype given the
importance both teams are placing on the result.
The
Irish may be unbeaten since going down to the All Blacks in
.. 2008 but their form was less then convincing in their
opening victory against Italy last weekend, and with the
2011 World Cup looming ever larger they know a big
performance is required in Paris. An unbeaten 12-match run
is testimony to both their talent and their doggedness, but
France have begun to take on a cohesiveness of late that was
largely absent during the first 18 months of Marc
Lièvremont's reign as head coach.
Injuries
may have deprived him of a handful of internationals but
'The Tinkerman' now has a settled squad from which to pick,
with only Brive's versatile winger Alexis Palisson a
relative unknown (outside France anyway) in Saturday's
line-up.
Much of
the pre-match build up has centered on the midfield
confrontation between O'Driscoll and Bastareaud, with the
Irish and Lions international taking on the young French
hulk in the city where he once scored a Championship
hat-trick to seal Ireland's famous 2000 victory.
But that
triumphant St Patrick's Day win remains one of only three
Irish victories in the French capital since 1952. Back then
O'Driscoll was still the new kid on the block, with his
het-trick heroics signposting the arrival of a world talent,
but in 2010 it is Bastareaud who is the emerging star -
albeit after having made global headlines for all the wrong
reasons following his false allegations of being mugged in
New Zealand during the summer.
That
incident brought shame and a media frenzy that threatened to
push 'Basta' from the game he loves, but the 21-year-old has
kept his head down since then and allowed his considerable
rugby skills to do his talking instead.
His form
with Stade Francais this season has been excellent - even
when made into an emergency number eight - but some were
still surprised that Lièvremont entrusted with the national
shirt so soon after bringing disgrace upon the team. The
coach's faith, however, was repaid handsomely in France's
opening Six Nations win against Scotland, with the battering
ram centre cruising over for a brace of tries to underline
his immense talent.
Indeed,
'immense' is the perfect word for describing the young back,
with his 18-stone frame more than enough to send opponents
into a spin. Last weekend the Scots backed off fatally as he
ran to the line for his second try, while Bastareaud is nigh
on impossible to halt with ball in hand from less than 5-10
metres.
One of
the problems with tackling Bastareaud - in every sense - is
that he is supported by a bejeweled backline that includes
such silky runners as Stade Toulousain trio Clément
Poitrenaud, Yannick Jauzion and Vincent Clerc. Fly-half
Francois Trinh-Duc continues to get mixed reviews, but his
quick hands and rugby vision mark him out as a superb
facilitator for those outside him.
And then
there's Parra, of course, the feisty and slight scrum-half
with a heart as big as anything that beats within
Bastareaud. His passing is coming on nicely and, judging by
his comments this week, so is his confidence. Last weekend
Lièvremont was critical of the linkage between France's
awesome pack and their dazzling backs, so now it is time for
Parra to be judged by his on-field actions as much as his
off-pitch comments.
France starting XV: Poitrenaud, Clerc, Bastareaud,
Jauzion, Palisson, Trinh-Duc. Parra, Harinordoquy,
Ouedraogo, Dusautoir (capt), Papé, Nallet, Mas, Servat,
Domingo.
Subs: Szarzewski, Marconnet, Pierre, Bonnaire,
Michalak, Marty, Malzieu.
Ireland starting XV: Kearney, Bowe, O'Driscoll.
D'Arcy, Earls, O'Gara, O'Leary, Healy, Flannery, Hayes,
Cullen, O'Connell, Ferris, Wallace, Heaslip.
Subs: Best, Court, Ryan, O'Brien, Reddan, Sexton,
Wallace.
