2007 in review
They were thinking big in France last year. Victory in their own World Cup could have galvanised the country as their footballers had done with success on home soil in 1998. And when New Zealand were beaten in the quarter-final in Cardiff, that glorious prospect seemed tangible. Alas, having done the hard work, they lost to England and didn’t make the final. Quel dommage!
In fact, the seeds of France’s demise had been sown in their defeat by Argentina on the opening day. That was a grievous blow to self-esteem and set the French off course for the rest of the tournament. They recovered with an easy win over Ireland and bravely completed that improbable victory in Cardiff, but still they did not have a settled team. Bernard Laporte’s typically eccentric decision to play Damien Traille at full back in the semi-final backfired immediately, when Josh Lewsey was given a try, and France proved unable to break down England’s defence.
An earlier defeat by England, in last year’s Six Nations, had cost France a grand slam, but they still managed to win the championship on points difference from Ireland. An opportunistic 20-17 victory at Croke Park had paved the way for that success. Although outplayed by Ireland, Laporte’s team stayed in the game and Vincent Clerc skipped through a series of tackles to steal the victory. So there was some silverware for France in 2007, but not the trophy for which they had been hoping.
Who’s new, who’s left
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Marc Lièvremont had a few holes to fill when he picked his first squad as coach of France. Since the World Cup, Fabien Pelous, Serge Betsen, Rapha?l Ibañez and Christophe Dominici had all retired from international rugby. But Lièvremont is looking to the future and introduced such unheralded names as François Trinh-Duc, the uncapped Montpellier fly half, and Lionel Faure, the understudy to Andrew Sheridan at Sale Sharks. Some high-profile names missed the cut, including S?bastien Chabal, Imanol Harinordoquy and Cl?ment Poitrenaud. The changing of the guard had been announced.
The coach: Marc Lièvremont
Much of French rugby was shocked when Lièvremont was appointed to succeed Laporte after the World Cup. Philippe Saint-Andre, the Sale director of rugby, had been strongly fancied, alongside Guy Noves, of Toulouse. Lièvremont, the former Biarritz flanker, had only been coaching since 2002, but he had obviously impressed in his two-year stint in charge of the France Under-21 team. He subsequently moved into club rugby and led Dax back into the Top 14 last season. He is not a coach of great experience, but, as his first squad selection demonstrated, he is a man of firm convictions.
Squad
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Julien Bonnaire, Clermont Auvergne, flanker/No 8
Julien Brugnaut, Dax, prop
Vincent Clerc, Toulouse, wing
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Thierry Dusautoir, Toulouse, flanker
Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Toulouse, scrum half
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Lionel Faure, Sale, prop
Florian Fritz, Toulouse, centre
C?dric Heymans, Toulouse, wing/full back
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Loïc Jacquet, Clermont Auvergne, lock
Julien Malzieu, Clermont Auvergne, wing
Arnaud Mela, Albi, lock
Lionel Nallet (capt), Castres, lock
Fulgence Ouedraogo, Montpellier, flanker
Morgan Parra, Bourgoin, scrum half
Jean-Baptiste Poux, Toulouse, prop
Aur?lien Rougerie, Clermont Auvergne, wing
William Servat, Toulouse, hooker
David Skrela, Stade Français, fly half
Dimitri Szarzewski, Stade Français, hooker
Damien Traille, Biarritz, centre
François Trinh-Duc, Montpellier, fly half
Elvis Vermeulen, Clermont Auvergne, No 8