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Something strange happened during Saturday’s November international between France and Australia in Paris on Saturday, writes James Harrington.
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Les Bleus were behind 23-25 with 13 minutes left on the clock when La Marseillaise started ringing around the full-to-capacity Stade de France. The French battle cry has not been heard so clearly for many a match. Even more remarkably, the anthem was still going strong three minutes later.
Never mind that Les Bleus ultimately lost the test match. Never mind that replacement first-five Camille Lopez slid an 81st-minute drop goal attempt wide of the mark, or that on 70 minutes Scott Spedding probably could and should have passed to Noa Nakaitaci who probably would have cantered 40 metres to the line. Never mind that, five minutes later, the South African-born fullback failed to notice – despite the entire crowd and most of the millions watching on television screaming at him – that France had a glaring four-on-one overlap and tried to go through a gap that wasn’t there.
The important thing is this: French rugby fans believe in their national side again. They played with energy and industry and – whisper it quietly in case it gets scared and vanishes into the undergrowth again – flair.
So, what has changed? Two things. Firstly, there’s the whole backroom set-up – including how much time that national coach gets to spend with his players around international windows and the number of club games players on elite and development squads play before being rested.
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These changes meant banging a few club presidents’ heads together, something new coach Guy Novès is uniquely placed to do. And they’re vital to improving French performances on the pitch. But they’re not as important as the second thing.
Philosophy.
For too long, the simple act of pulling on the French rugby jersey has filled players with ‘Le Fear’, such crippling terror of making a mistake that it has effectively prevented them trying anything even vaguely adventurous.
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You can almost pinpoint the exact date the malaise started to set in – just after the 1999 World Cup final, when Bernard Laporte took over as France coach. He was so desperate to emulate English success that he copied their iron discipline template, but at the cost of eroding the genius that comes just this side of madness.
Novès has nearly 17 years of Le Fear to undo. There’s no wonder his first Six Nations did not go quite as well as Eddie Jones’ with England, or that France’s summer tour to Argentina was muted, while Jones’s Australian return was – from a red rose perspective – a huge success.
And yet, there are hints that he is starting to see some success. Yes, when they break the advantage line the French sometimes look like a rabbit in the headlights, but the fact they have the confidence to even try something that has become so alien is cause for optimism.
On Saturday night they dared to run the ball. They attacked from deep in their own territory. They poured through gaps they created in the Australian defence. In fits and starts, they threatened to be the unpredictable France of old.
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Spedding may have been caught out because he hesitated too long before passing to Nakaitaci, but the France of recent times would not have even tried to launch an attack from their own tryline. He may have missed the overlap, but it speaks volumes that, with the clock ticking down, he had the self belief to go for a gap that closed just too quickly for him to break through.
And you can bet there are no recriminations where it matters, in the dressing room. Novès has faith in his players. Because he believes in them, they believe in themselves – and that is why the supporters are daring to believe again.
