Rugby World Cup 2011: France drawing confidence from surviving erratic campaign

France reached the final despite losing two pool matches and showing no kind of invention in their scrappy semi-final win against Wales, hanging on to win 9-8 against a team which conceded a one-man advantage for an hour. Even traditional French flair has gone at this tournament, replaced by a rigid defence and an emphasis on kicking out of trouble.

Given all this, and that the odds are stacked in New Zealand’s favour because of its 100 per cent winning record, it would be easy to dismiss France’s chances in the final. But the French players views these things as positive omens. “It’s crazy. We’re the only team in the history of rugby to lose two pool matches and reach the final,” France prop Fabien Barcella said. “We’re a team that cultivates contrasts.”

France’s lowest point came after losing back-to-back games – 37-17 to New Zealand and 19-14 to Tonga – to conclude the pool stage. The Tonga defeat summed up how far the team had fallen. Over the past 12 months, France have been thrashed at home 59-16 by Australia, suffered heavy defeats in Argentina and South Africa and lost to Italy in the Six Nations Championship.

These defeats, however, seem now to have heightened the resolve of the team.

“We’ve taken some hidings, maybe we’ve come out of it stronger mentally,” said Barcella, who has drawn inspiration from Italy’s run to the title at the 2006 football World Cup. “After the defeat [to Tonga], I said that when the Italian football team played badly for three matches they still managed to be world champions.”

What makes the French team so dangerous for New Zealand is the way they reacted to that Tonga defeat, summoning up pride and passion to beat England after racing to a 16-0 half-time lead in a performance that defied form as well as logic. “I think if we had beaten Tonga we would have lost to England, that’s for sure. That’s the French way,” prop Jean-Baptiste Poux said.