The
current euphoria running through French rugby was epitomized
by national coach Marc Lièvremont this week when he targeted
a Six Nations Grand Slam for his talented squad.
The
feel-good factor has returned on the back of
four Top 14 clubs reaching the
Heineken Cup quarter-finals, and Lièvremont was
clearly in bullish mood as he looked ahead to both the
forthcoming Six Nations and next year's World Cup
tournament.
"We play
to win every game," said Lièvremont. "The Grand Slam is the
dream of every rugby player who is competing in the
tournament."
France
open their campaign away to Scotland on February 7th, but
three of their five matches are at home, including their
final game against England.
"It is
true that we have a favourable schedule, but the trip to
Scotland will be no picnic. Ireland have also got two
Heineken Cup quarter-finalists and there is also the trip to
Wales, before Italy and England... this will not be easy,"
he admitted.
But
there is a definite whiff of optimism coming out of the
French training camp at Marcoussis, and Lièvremont is
clearly keen to foster that.
"Somehow
all lights are green," he said. "My squad has progressed for
two years, we had a good Autumn, four clubs have qualified
and the level of Top 14 is better than it was before. There
is ambition and self-confidence, although the same thing
drives all of our opponents as well."
He
believes the squad is progressing after a period of relative
stability - Fabrice Estebanez is the only uncapped player
among the 30 at Marcoussis - but says they must now take
responsibility for their own performances. "We must be
demanding, although not necessarily me," he told L'Equipe.
"But these players must have this ambition and not let go.
And if you want to talk of Grand Slams, then you need to be
mature to win the Six Nations . You have to win five games
and you will pay dearly for the slightest error."
Lièvremont recognised that his forwards are more settled
than his backs at present but underlined the continuity of
selection that has developed of late, helping to foster an
atmosphere of optimism. "We have big ambitions and high
hopes," he concluded.
Last
season they finished third after a topsy-turvy tournament
saw them lose narrowly away to Ireland before being thumped
34-10 at Twickenham. Since then France have drawn away in
New Zealand and beaten World Champions South Africa at home,
helping make them pre-tournament favourites this time
around.
The
41-year-old coach - now in his third season in charge of
'Les Bleus' - is especially keen to make amends for that
Twickenham humiliation, which he described as a "huge slap
in the face" and "a disaster from start to finish".
He
added: "Some losses you can make something out of, but not
the English one. You cannot build on that. It was only the
unbreakable spirit of the players, which even with the
thrashing they received on and off the pitch saw us through
that dark period."
If
France are to win the Championship, or even the Grand Slam,
then they will have to do something they have singularly
failed to achieve under the coach's tenure - namely, win at
least three matches in a row. To that end he is delighted
that he will have had his players together for 10 days prior
to their opening game against Scotland. "I am exceptionally
luck," he admitted. "That is almost unheard of. Back in
November, prior to taking on South Africa, my players had
two Top 14 games - which left me picking up the pieces over
injuries and suspensions and reshaping the squad."
He is
not without problems this time around either. First-choice
scrum-half Julien Dupuy is unavailable due to his lengthy
ban, and he has also lost the likes of injured Biarritz trio
Dimitri Yachvili, Damien Traille and Fabien Barcella. But
the emphasis right now is most definitely on the positive as
'Les Bleus' seek to continue their current upward momentum.
They have also been hit by the late withdrawal of second row
Romain Millo-Chluski, with Clermont's Julien Pierre being
drafted in to replace the injured Stade Toulousain player.
France
will also go into this year's championship under the new
leadership of Stade Toulousain flanker Thierry Dusautoir, a
player who leads by example and is arguably one of the
finest back rowers in world rugby today. The 28-year-old
appears better equipped to get the best out of his
colleagues than previous incumbent Lionel Nallet, although
the latter remains a key figure in Lièvremont's squad.
The
41-year-old coach - now in his third season in charge of
'Les Bleus' - is especially keen to make amends for that
Twickenham humiliation.
France fixtures:
Sun Feb 7: Scotland (a)
Sat Feb 13: Ireland (h)
Fri Feb 26: Wales (a)
Sun Mar 14: Italy (h)
Sat Mar 20: England (h)
France squad:
Forwards: Thomas Domingo (Clermont Auvergne), Luc
Ducalcon (Castres), Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Francais),
Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), William Servat (Stade Toulousain),
Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais), Sébastien Chabal
(Racing-Métro 92), Romain Millo-Chluski* (Stade Toulousain),
Lionel Nallet (Racing-Métro 92), Pascal Papé (Stade
Francais), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont Auvergne), Thierry
Dusautoir (Stade Toulousain, Capt), Imanol Harinordoquy
(Biarritz), Alexandre Lapandry (Clermont Auvergne), Fulgence
Ouedraogo (Montpellier), Louis Picamoles (Stade Toulousain).
Backs: Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Stade Toulousain),
Morgan Parra (Clermont Auvergne), Benjamin Boyet (Bourgoin),
Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade
Francais), Fabrice Estebanez (Brive), David Marty
(Perpignan), Yannick Jauzion (Stade Toulousain), Vincent
Clerc (Stade Toulousain), Benjamin Fall (Bayonne), Julien
Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne), Aurélien Rougerie (Clermont
Auvergne), Alexis Palisson (Brive), Clément Poitrenaud
(Stade Toulousain).
*
Millo-Chluski now replaced by Clermont Auvergne's Julien
Pierre.
