Six Nations:
Seven-try
Italian job only serves to highlight French inconsistencies
23 March 2009
France
ended their turbulent Six Nations campaign with a thumping
50-8 victory in Italy, but the overriding feeling was still
one of regret at their sorry defeat at Twickenham a week
earlier.
Les
Bleus were a side transformed as they ran in seven tries,
with Toulouse youngster Maxime Medard leading the charge
with a brace. Sebastien Chabal got the scoreboard rolling
with a 20m burst for the line, and there were further scores
for fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc, Cedric Heymans, captain
Lionel Nallet and replacement winger Julien Malzieu.
Bourgoin
scrum-half Morgan Parra landed three penalties and three
conversions, while Italy’s only try came from Stade
Francais’ Sergio Parisse.
But the
win – despite its scale – still left a somewhat hollow
feeling after France’s previous capitulation to England,
with Stade Toulousain flanker Thierry Dusautoir admitting:
“It’s annoying because it is another tournament that passes
us by and I think we had the means to win it.”
He
added: “We perhaps weren’t consistent enough in our
preparation and not psychologically there to win the
tournament. We had the players and the ability to do it but
we weren’t consistent enough in the head.”
Saturday’s win left France third in the table and head coach
Marc Lièvremont admitted he was still baffled by his team’s
34-10 defeat against England.
“We beat
the best team (Wales) and competed with the others. But
there was also the thumping in England, which is now a part
of the history of this group and our staff. It’s still
incomprehensible,” he said.
Lièvremont admitted that France were still
“some way” from becoming a team capable of winning
tournaments and, perhaps in reflection of his own
inconsistent selections, added: “I have the impression that
we’re very far from and at the same time very close to the
best teams.”
How
reassuringly French.
He
remains, however, defiant to the end about his own
selectorial decisions, saying that “we leave the tournament
vindicated, with our heads high, despite the media’s claims
that we were in trouble. Personally speaking, I never felt
that I was in trouble.”
Lièvremont was realistic enough to describe Saturday’s
result as of “no real significance”, although he also
claimed that pride at the manner of France’s final display.
“I am
satisfied that my team finished the tournament with this
performance,” he added.
Reports
that Chabal was involved in a “nightclub brawl” on Saturday
evening will not have pleased him so much though.
Italian
news agency Ansa claimed that Chabal was involved in a
scuffle with Italy prop Martin Castrogiovanni after he
allegedly eyed up the latter’s girlfriend at the Art Café.
The report said teammates
were forced to separate the pair, with French players later
apologising for the incident.
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