France assistant coach Emile N'Tamack
believes Australia will pose a sterner test for ‘Les Bleus’
than the All Blacks.
France have flown on to
Sydney for a one-off Test with the Wallabies on Saturday,
buoyed by the
just-completed drawn series in New
Zealand. But N’Tamack has warned against
over-confidence, and issued a rallying call to the French
squad for their final match of a draining season.
“We know the next game
will be the hardest game of the tour. We know the Australian
team very well and we know they have some very good
experienced players.
“It’s been a long
season for the French players, I know they are very tired.
This week we need some recovery because it was a very
physical match [in Wellington]. We have to be better than
last Saturday with our strategy, the ruck, the lineout, the
scrums… a lot of things,” he said.
Forwards coach
Didier Retiere is also expecting Australia to pose a
sterner test than the All Blacks, who were missing key
players such as Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Ali Williams.
“I think Australia is
more structured [than New Zealand] with very talented
players, but it’s like a machine. They keep moving, you do
your best and suddenly they go faster and they score a try.
The problem with the Aussies is you always have to beware.
Mostly they will play slowly and sometimes they can go fast
very early,” he warned.
But Retiere played down
the loss of five French players ahead of the Australia
clash, claiming “the difference between all the players is
not so important”.
When asked if ‘Les
Bleus’ would still have ‘cave man’ mentality despite the
loss of Sebastien Chabal he replied: “I hope so. I hope we
will have a few cave men on the pitch, but cave men with a
lot of brains”.
Captain Thierry
Dusautoir has also called on his team for one last big
effort. “We really want to finish well because I think that
so far the tour has been quite positive,” he said. “It would
be a shame to spoil things by thinking and focusing more on
our holidays,” he added.
First choice fly-half
Francois Trinh-Duc, meanwhile, has been creating
headlines Down Under with his composed play behind the
powerful French pack.
Trinh-Duc, who has
Vietnamese ancestry, has looked at ease on the international
stage since reclaiming his starting spot during the Six
Nations Championship. He may only have 12 caps to his name
but is already looking a decent bet to lead the French back
line though to the 2011 World Cup.
The Montpellier player
scored a try in France’s surprise first Test win against the
All Blacks in Dunedin and is now relishing pitting himself
against Australia’s Matt Giteau in Sydney on Saturday.
Wallaby lock James
Horwill is also looking forward to the match, although
he hopes not to suffer a repeat of his fate last time these
two teams met when a couple of feisty altercations left him
nursing an impressive black eye.
“It was just something
that happens in rugby. I ended up with a pretty good shiner,
but that’s just part and parcel,” Horwill told AAP.
“You roll with the punches I guess,” he added.
The experienced second
row said he had been impressed by the French in their two
matches against the All Blacks and expected Saturday to be
another bruising encounter.
“I think it’s just a mindset that they go out there and
really want to physically assert themselves and we’ve got to
make sure we do the same,” he said.
“I think you’ve got to
make sure you’re up for the challenge. I know that they will
be challenging us at the breakdown and around the park.
We’ve got to make sure that get on the front foot and we
don’t wait for things to happen, we get out there and really
take the forward step,” added Horwill.
Australia have opted
for experience for Saturday’s game with 18-year-old James
O’Connor dropped to the bench despite scoring two tries
against Italy, with Adam Ashley-Cooper preferred in his
place.
O’Connor’s demotion was
one of nine changes from last weekend’s team, with the likes
of Stirling Mortlock and Giteau welcomed back after a week’s
rest.
Coach Robbie Deans is
anticipating a high-octane encounter. “You can guarantee
that they [France] will throw everything at this game as
it’s their last one before a break. The players will be
looking to make sure there’s nothing left in the gas tank
once they’ve finished on Saturday night,” he said.
