RBS Six Nations: Dusautoir calls for French pride; Parra admits "we were total idiots"

France captain Thierry Dusautoir has attempted to unify his squad with a rallying call for national pride to be restored following their Italian humiliation.

The 29-year-old admitted to personal and collective failings in Rome, but urged his team to emerge stronger after a week of intense media criticism.

France take on Wales in Paris on Saturday night and Dusautoir said the match presents a perfect opportunity for his players to respond after last weekend's 22-21 defeat.

"There is a desire to rediscover some form of respect in our game and for our adversary, to get really involved in the game," he said. "You often learn from one's errors and we have been given another lesson in that. We are going through a difficult period. I think we will emerge from it stronger," added the Stade Toulousain flanker.

Dusautoir, who will win his 42nd cap on Saturday, admitted it had been an extremely difficult week for all of the French players. "There were many questions posed to all of the squad after our poor performance, there has been a lot of soul searching and a desire to move on," he said.

Furious Lièvremont discards six

He also refused to be excused from last weekend's loss, despite being one of only three players praised afterwards by coach Marc Lièvremont. "I slept-walked through the match, just as my team-mates did. We are a team, so therefore that criticism includes me," he insisted. 

Starting scrum-half Morgan Parra denied rumours the French squad was fractured into cliques along club lines, and that Lièvremont had lost the confidence of his squad.

"There is no split, whether it be between the players and the staff or among the players themselves," said the 22-year-old.

The Clermont Auvergne scrum-half also said it was the players themselves who were to blame for the Italian defeat.

"We know we are in a real mess, and we put ourselves there," he said. We were total idiots last Saturday. All of us. What happened last weekend has marked us all. Now we are hungry to redeem ourselves and to make up some lost ground," added last season's Top 14 Player of the Year.

Lièvremont's indecision hurting France

Wales have made two injury-enforced changes from the side which beat Ireland last weekend, with 18-year-old winger George North coming in for Shane Williams and prop Adam Jones replacing Craig Mitchell.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has urged his players to end their Six Nations campaign on a high with victory in Paris.

"We are going into the final round of the Championship in second place and still with a shot at the title," he said. "That's pleasing, but is not good enough yet - we need to finish the job and win in France. This is the only element of this weekend we can control and it is vitally important that we maintain our focus on what will be one of the toughest challenges of this campaign," he added.

FFR president Pierre Camou, meanwhile, has given his complete backing to Lièvremont, claiming he had "never even envisaged" replacing the under-pressure coach.

He did, however, admit there were plenty of unresolved issues following a series of hugely disappointing results in the past eight months.

"The France team is the shop window of French rugby. There are major questions about French rugby, which are better dealt with when things are calm. If the only solution was to change one or two or three players then everybody would know the answer to the question.

"But the questions go deeper than that. What happened [against Italy]? How does one put together again a squad for the short-term goal [the RWC]? These are the questions that I am asking myself. And each one of us, myself primarily, assume their responsibilities," said Camou.

And he recalled that France had been in a worse position before reaching the 1999 RWC, when they still managed to make the final despite finishing bottom in the then Five Nations championship just prior to the tournament.

Lièvremont also got backing from Jo Maso, who has been team manager of the French national side since 1995.

Maso is renowned for keeping a low media profile but admitted even he had to get stuck into the squad following France's shock defeat by Italy.

"I told the players some home truths," he said in L'Equipe. "Can you still look in the mirror after what you just did?" he asked the players.

Maso added that Lièvremont was passionate about the French side and that he is thinking was "logical" despite widespread criticism of his constant team changing. He further said it was ultimately up to the squad to perform on the pitch. "Players will win the World Cup in New Zealand, not us," he added.

Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Date: Saturday 19 March 2011
KO: 20.45
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)