The senior French players seem to have taken control of the ship and that could spell trouble for Wales this weekend.
by David Sheehan
Those of us who get out of bed for Saturday morning’s Rugby World Cup semi-final between Wales and France, will no doubt feel a little sting of remorse and ruminate on what might have been as the two sides line up for the anthems.
How glorious it would have been to hear Ireland’s Call – whatever your views on the song – belted out along with arguably the most famous anthem of them all – La Marseillaise.
Alas it wasn’t to be, and while Ireland and their supporters packed their bags and left any number of badly soiled camper vans behind them, Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards got down to preparing for French. For keen followers of rugby, as distinct from followers solely of the Irish team, Saturday’s clash is really something to look forward to.
Wales have been the form side of this World Cup, and the coaches bravery in picking players on form rather than reputation has reaped huge rewards. Rhys Priestland, whose selection was called into question by messrs Hook, Pope and Sheahan prior to last Saturday’s quarter-final, produced a composed and intelligent performance that belied his lack of experience. Unfortunately for Gatland, Priestland misses the semi-final due to injury, but replacing him with the vastly experienced James Hook hardly weakens the Welsh hand. Indeed, some might argue that Prietland’s absence is a blessing in disguise given Hook’s greater familiarity with the big occasion.
Another selection which raised eyebrows among so-called experts was that of Leigh Halfpenny at full-back. Halfpenny, who has plied most of his trade at international level on the wing, was preferred to Lee Byrne, and indeed Hook, in the No 15 shirt last time out. Like Priestland, Halfpenny justified his selection in spades. His ability to kick long-range penalties is well-known, but he had a relatively comfortable evening last Saturday in terms of traditional full-back play. Ireland would have hoped to test his ability under the high ball a little more often, but quality up-and-unders were few and far between. Expect France to redress the balance somewhat during Saturday’s clash.
So what of the French? Written off by almost everyone prior to last weekend’s game against England, the French – as they like to do – tore up the script and produced a sparkling first-half performance that left England more-or-less beaten after 40 minutes. Rumours of revolt in the camp appear to be well-founded, with veteran Biarritz duo Imanol Harinordoquy and Dimitri Yachvili now reported to be running the show as coach Marc Lieveremont takes a back seat. Certainly, something changed in the week running up to the England game and it would make sense if those two players – in their last World Cup – took the wheel and steered their side away from the edge of an abyss that would rival that which the French football team plunged into last summer.
France easily beat an English side still playing to a 2003 template, with inferior players to the World Cup-winning vintage of eight years ago. But can they do the same to Wales? The experiment of picking Morgan Parra at fly-half continues, but surely Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies will be rubbing their hands at the thoughts of trampling all over the diminutive nine-turned-ten. Given that Tom Shanklin openly flagged that Wales would seek to run at Ronan O’Gara last weekend, you can bet your bottom dollar that Parra will face a test of his bravery – something which didn’t appear to be in huge supply against New Zealand in the pool.
That said, the French tacticians – be that Lieveremont, or the rumoured de facto leaders – will surely have a plan in place and Parra will be relying heavily on his back row to block up the ‘ten channel’. Whether that is done to such an extent that gaps are left elsewhere remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, he and his side will not get as easy a ride as they got against a hopelessly one dimensional England, and Roberts is a much different, and infinitely more daunting No 12 to be facing than Toby Flood.
It promises to be the game of the tournament. France have been involved in pretty much all the most memorable games in Rugby World Cup history – Australia in ’87, New Zealand in ’99 and again in 2007. However, they have never won the competition and have frequently followed up good results with spectacular collapses – like 2003 when Freddie Michalak cost them the semi-final against England with a kicking meltdown in the Sydney rain. In Yachvili they have a metronomic kicker, so should at least be safe in that regard.
That 2003 defeat for France came after a demolition of a fancied Irish side the previous weekend. Will the same happen on Saturday to Wales?
If France can play with the joie de vivre they produced last Saturday – particularly in the first half – then they should edge a tight game.
However, ‘ifs’ rarely come any bigger than those involving French rugby.
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