Interview: Marc Lievremont, French rugby coach

Published on Saturday 30 January 2010 21:21

FRANCE may be more pragmatic than the 2008 side but won't abandon their va va voom, their coach tells Ian Borthwick. . .

IT IS ALMOST exactly two years since Marc Lievremont kicked off his tenure as head guru of the French XV with an upset win at Murrayfield. As a young coach – he was only 39 – with virtually no experience at the top level, Lievremont had come to Edinburgh with four uncapped players in his side, and only one thought in mind: high-risk rugby. "It was a brand-new team, with a brand-new coaching staff, and a grand total of about three training runs together," remembers Lievremont. "So we just decided

The gamble paid off, as the French won handsomely (27-6), running in three tries to none with Toulouse winger Vincent Clerc getting two, and his Clermont counterpart Julien Malzieu the other. It was a triumph for Lievremont's bold experiment, especially as, after the mean-spirited rugby played by the French during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the former flanker's unfettered approach was like a breath of fresh air for Les Bleus.

It was, to quote the French revolutionary Georges Danton, "De l'audace, et encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace!" (Boldness, and again boldness, and always boldness). But it was just an experiment. And since then Lievremont and his assistant coaches Emile Ntamack and Didier Retiere have naturally taken a more measured approach. In fact, if the French coaching staff have been roundly criticised for using as many as 70 players in the 24 games since they have been in charge, it should be remembered that an unprecedented 56 of those were used in the first season. "We are no longer experimenting!" snaps Lievremont.

"I admit that was the case in our first Six Nations tournament, but we have moved on since then. For some time now, we have been working at finding the right balance in our game. By being more pragmatic, but at the same time playing la franaise, retaining what we see as the identity of the French game."

Nevertheless, Lievremont is expecting a difficult start to this year's campaign, which again starts for the French in Edinburgh. And whereas the Scots are sitting on a historic victory against the Wallabies, Les Bleus – despite their rugged 20-13 win against the Springboks in Toulouse last November – are still smarting from the spectacular 39-12 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks in Marseille.

"The Scots are coming out of a successful autumn series, and an impressive performance against Australia," observed Lievremont last week at the French training centre at Marcoussis. "The Scots might have changed their coach, but they still retain all the characteristics of Scottish rugby. That is to say, they can be seen as the All Blacks of the Northern Hemisphere. No doubt the New Zealanders have a greater physical presence, and more athletic potential, but with their ability to keep the ball alive, the Scots will be a major challenge for us."

For the Frenchman, Andy Robinson's influence at the helm of the Scotland XV has had an undoubted impact on their performance. "Scotland are still very solid in the set-pieces, and we will have to be ready for a real battle up front. No doubt, it is down to the influence of their new coach, but it is the quality of their off-loading, their ability to play in the defence, and the quality of their kicking game that makes them such a threat."

The main problem for Lievremont, however, is that so much depends on the opening match of the Championship. To play to their potential, to be able to express themselves with the fluidity and free-spirit they showed in Edinburgh two years ago, the French need above all to feel confident in what they are doing. It is perhaps too easy to categorise the French as "confidence players". But confidence and consistency are the two factors in the Six Nations that determine whether France can once again be the dominant force in European rugby, or whether they will continue to suffer the kind of ignominious defeat they witnessed at Twickenham last year, when they collapsed to a 34-10 loss, after trailing 29-0 at half-time.

"For us, the opening game is the key," he insists. "We French need to get a good win under our belt." Insisting that it is perhaps not just a French speciality, he points to the last two Six Nations championships, where both Wales and Ireland built their success on the first day of the competition. "Two years ago, Wales started by pulling off a win at Twickenham, then going on to greater success. And last year, it was the same for Ireland. They only just beat us in the opening game in Dublin, but they scored three tries that day, and that set them up for the rest of the championship."

Despite the seesaw nature of French performances over the past 24 months, however, Lievremont believes he has the players to make 2010 a successful year for Les Bleus. "The thing with French rugby is that, on our day, we can beat any team in the world. Sure, but on our day, we can also lose to any team in the world," quips the French coach. "What we are really missing is a bit of confidence, and some real consistency in our performances. Not only do we need to start well, but to win the Championship we also need to be able to put together three top performances in a row."

Injuries and a suspension have, nevertheless, substantially weakened the French team as, before going into the Championship, four key players will be unavailable for the duration. The centre Maxime Mermoz (shoulder), the utility back Damien Traille (knee) and the loosehead Fabien Barcella (knee) are all out with injury, while first-choice scrum-half Julien Dupuy is currently under a 23-week suspension for eye-gouging in a Heineken Cup game for Stade Franais.

Nevertheless, the French pack will be as rugged as ever, with old hands like Sylvain Marconnet, Imanol Harinordoquy, Lionel Nallet and the darling of the media, Sebastien Chabal, while the three-quarter line seen at Murrayfield may well be the most massive ever assembled by the French. Lievremont will not name his team until later this week, but if early indications and current form are anything to go by, the French could quite possibly line up at Murrayfield with the Clermont pairing of Aurlien Rougerie (16 stone) and Julien Malzieu (15 stone) on the wings, and Yannick Jauzion (16st 11lbs) accompanied by the brutish Mathieu Bastareaud (17st 4lbs) in the centre.

Given the gargantuan proportions of their three-quarters, one might presume that the French will shy away from the free-wheeling game they played in Edinburgh on their last visit and keep their cards much closer to their chest. Or that they will return to a form of percentage rugby that Bernard Laporte favoured in the ill-fated 2007 World Cup campaign. But when it comes to French style, Lievremont refuses to consider taking a backwards step. And as Les Bleus showed by fighting fire with fire in the 39-12 defeat against the All Blacks last November, breaking the New Zealand defensive line on several occasions, there is no future for a French team which tries to shut the game down. "We didn't try to take the All Blacks on at their own game!" he insists. "What we did try to do was play rugby the way we intend to play it. And that is what we continue to do during the Six Nations."

Expect a few fireworks from the 2010 French side at Murrayfield next Sunday then. Perhaps not as wild and woolly a performance as their last visit, but a French team nevertheless determined to play with a generous dose of old-fashioned Gallic passion. Tempered with a touch of pragmatism. "Just because we are capable of playing a complete style of game, doesn't mean that from time to time we won't be a little more restrictive. And that when the situation calls for it, we will kick a few up-and-unders, play a few rolling mauls, and maybe shut the game down," reveals Lievremont. "But we intend to play some rugby, and put together a complete style of game. That is how we see the game of rugby, and what we are trying to achieve. I don't know if we will be successful, but at least we are going to try. We might lose, but our conception of the game will not change." Hallelujah to that!