Master tactician Yachvili is fit to face the Welsh

The master strategist said yesterday he may not kick against Wales, however, and could hand the task to Morgan Parra. Yachvili had not trained since last weekend’s victory, but said he had started running again and would be ready to face the Welsh at Eden Park.

“I am confident everything is fine,” he smiled, when asked if he would take his place in the starting 15 on Saturday night. “There’s a risk that I won’t do the kicking, though. I am still healing but things are coming along well.

“I started running again this morning. I took a blow to the thigh in the match against England, but have rested it since then. You need a few days’ rest for it to begin healing properly,” he explained.

Such is Yachvili’s influence, the news is a blow to Wales who hope to reach their first World Cup final. “Yachvili looks to me like a man who totally understands rugby,” said Wales defensive coach Shaun Edwards. “The French forwards love him as their scrum-half because he almost coaches them on the pitch.”

Yachvili smiled when asked of his great influence. “Marc [Lievremont] is the coach,” he said. “And our performances have been getting better and better. We won last week because we played at our correct level, and we need to make sure we do the same this week. We needed to reduce things down to the simple basics after the loss to Tonga in the group stages ... just go back to French rugby.

“We gave the best of ourselves against the English so there is no reason we should not do the same against the Welsh this weekend.”

Yachvili said the French camp were perfectly prepared. “We are very motivated. This is a World Cup semi-final and an exceptional moment for anyone.”