Bob Dwyer Rugby Workshops

Stade de France. Saturday, February 13, 2010.

A couple of weeks ago, in my Six Nations Preview, I said that France can be brilliant but lacked the consistency needed to win the championship. I said further that Ireland ‘could’ win in Paris and had, indeed, been able to achieve that in recent years. Just for good measure, I added that France needed Millo-Chluski, Picamoles and Harinordoquy and that I was concerned about their halves. Well, I at least got Harinordoquy right; he was outstanding, along with the rest of his team-mates, including the replacements.

As I said then, France can be brilliant, but yesterday they added composure and patience, and these are qualities which we have not normally associated with Les Bleus. In fact, it was Ireland who began the better, showing excellent variation and looking composed and confident. France were struggling with their lineout, losing two early throws and five in all, and were pinned in their own territory for much of the first 15 minutes. Gordon D’Arcy made a slashing break through the mid-field, kicked over Poitrenaud’s head and won the race for the ball, only to be denied by the cruelest of bounces with the ball deflecting off the goalpost padding and out of his reach. This was dreadfully unlucky for the Irish, but that was just about it for them for the rest of the match.

France suddenly sprang to life and in the 17^th minute they launched what was to be the first of many counter-attacks. With a try threatening, Cian Healy made an early tackle on Morgan Parra, pulling him back from the pass. A yellow card rightly followed and France were to take 17 points during Healy’s absence.  In fact, Ireland were extremely lucky that they were not reduced further to thirteen men, when, just four minutes later, Jerry Flannery appeared to lash out and trip Alexis Palisson as the French wing stepped past him. Referee Wayne Barnes, after consulting with his touchline assistant, ruled that a penalty was sufficient. Many would not have been so lenient.

When I was young, we had a chant, “Cheats never prosper!” This is how it should always be and Ireland will have good reason to reflect on this ditty over the next two weeks.  To my mind, a deliberate breach of the laws of the game is evidence of a negative frame of mind. I would frequently tell my players that such an action was an arrogant message to their team-mates, indicating that “I believe that you cannot contain the opposition unless I cheat.” Far better for me the attitude which says, “I trust you to do this immediate job. I’m racing back into position for the next task.” This is positive and spirited – and, what’s more, it’s fair!

Following the temporary dismissal of Healy, France began to take charge. Their scrum was dominant – although occasionally and strangely, the Ireland scrum would be on top. Trinh-Duc and Basteraud were a constant threat and this made space for Harinordoquy and Ouedraogo. The French counter-attack was lethal; led by the brilliant Poitrenaud but admirably supported by the wings, Clerc and Malzieu, after the latter had replaced the injured Palisson, following Flannery’s indiscretion.

Trinh-Duc was showing all of his finesse qualities – one gem of a grubber off the outside of his foot for the flying Malzieu, was halted only by a tackle into touch-in-goal – but he has added a clear physical edge with a few extra kilos and he was showing Ronan O’Gara a torrid time. Basteraud showed great acceleration and balance and a brilliant off-load out of the back of his left hand, whilst he countered the tackle with his right, was a gem, and gave the try for Poitrenaud. It is easy to see why the French team administration were so keen to support Basteraud and help him back into the game, following his after-game fiasco in New Zealand last year.

Indeed it was impossible to find any player in this French team who did not make a significant contribution to this excellent performance. The front five in the pack were powerful and organized both collectively in the driving maul, which sapped Irish strength and collected territory and penalties, and individually in their ball carries. The back-row of Dusautoir, Ouedraogo and Harinordoquy had pace and power and were the perfect physical foil for the qualities of their backline.

France seem, at least on the evidence of this outing, to have sorted out their selection difficulties and they have built a formidable squad. They carried a replacement bench which tallied no fewer than 261 international caps! They used all seven and all contributed in exemplary fashion. Add to this, a number of injuries to outstanding players – Millo-Chulski and Chabal, to name two – and things are looking decidedly rosy in the French camp.

It wasn’t Ireland’s day at all. The evil bounce, which denied Gordon D’Arcy, came at nil-all. A ‘seven-pointer’ at this stage could have made a huge difference, but a good team can bounce back from adversity and Ireland’s performance fell a long way short of that. Their backline attack was across field all day and, as a consequence, was consistently  swallowed up and driven back in the tackle by a powerful French defence. A number of ball turnovers came directly from this and, notwithstanding the quality of the Ireland backrow, it’s all but impossible to accurately support such a misguided attack.

I’m not at all sure that Ireland have their selection at the same level as France, even conceding that they have some injury problems. Rory Best looked positive and aggressive, but composed, after he replaced Flannery. O’Gara was way off the pace and surely it’s time for Johnny Sexton. Eoin Reddan had more ‘zip’, when he came on, and was clearly quicker with the pass than O’Leary. To me Keith Earls looks a born outside-center – big, strong, fast and balanced. A midfield of Sexton, O’Driscoll and Earls looks miles more threatening than yesterday’s trio.

France may have rocketed to favouritism for the title, but there’s still a long way to go and a Grand Slam is not all that common!