This French side have the quality to go all the way
WHERE France make hay and run through a team is if you allow them to offload. That was England's biggest mistake at Twickenham last weekend, and it cost them a record defeat.
The French have big, athletic forwards who understand to run at ‘spaces not faces', and they take brilliant support lines. It is very difficult to stop because, when they have momentum, they produce quick ball and tear you apart.
They also have a very good set-piece, whether from scrum or lineout, and they use it to create quick ball in the loose. Antoine Dupont exploits that brilliantly by always keeping the French going forward, through either sniping around the edges, or kicking.
They scored against England with a lovely move straight from a lineout for the second Damian Penaud try, but they also produce great attacking opportunities from the breakdown. They don't mind some kick-tennis, although they do not play for position as smartly as Ireland, who plot and manoeuvre their way up the field very strategically.
By comparison, France seem to strike from anywhere, which is a nightmare for a defensive coach. However, sometimes you feel that France ought to plot a course – but I defy anyone to tell me what it is! Maybe they just play what is in front of them, as it used to be when I played. They just have that instinct to play off each other, and generally it works, although it is far harder against really organised sides like Ireland and South Africa.
That partly explains why I'm not totally sold on the idea that France are building in an unassailable way. I believe they are still vulnerable because of the weight of expectation that will be on them as the World Cup host nation – and that will grow due to results like the one against an England side that are not very good.
Of France's seven tries, Charles Ollivon's two touchdowns were both the result of poor defence, and Damian Penaud's first try from a cross-kick when Alex Dombrandt was covering was also pretty soft.
The other tries were scored from great execution. Because I grew up playing against the likes of Philippe Sella and Denis Char vet in the flamboyant, but also accurate and skilful, French teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was familiar territory.
This is the closest France have got to playing that way for a long time, although in that era the French forwards were all about confrontation – legitimate or not – and they weren't overly worried if they did not have the ball.
However, what is similar is that this French pack are all very comfortable on the ball, especially in terms of offloading – and it's what the French used to be like 20 years ago.
France have reached three World Cup finals, in which they were well beaten by New Zealand in the inaugural tournament in 1987. They missed out again in 1999, when, after an epic semi-final victory over the All Blacks, they came unstuck against an extraordinarily good Australia side in the final. The closest they have come was in the 2011 final when they could definitely have beaten host nation New Zealand.
Even though they have been bridesmaids on each occasion, this 2023 team have the quality to win a World Cup title. This was evident in the way that Dupont was mercurial against England. He could do nothing wrong, and it rubber-stamped him as arguably the best player in the world. It should also be taken into account that the French were missing their best two tightheads, and yet their forwards were dominant against England at the set-piece and in the loose.
France have strong scrummagers and good lifters in the front row, and they have always been blessed with good hookers like Julien Marchand. From 4 to 8 in the pack, they can all offload, and Thibaud Flament coming through to play for France from Loughborough fifths is a brilliant story.
The only problem for this France side is that they will have to play either Ireland or South Africa in a quarter-final – although if you're England, Wales, Argentina, or Australia in the other half of the draw you will be very pleased!
France's best bits against England, Ireland, and Scotland in this Six Nations campaign showed that you have to play really well to contain them. What makes it difficult is their ability to produce something out of nothing, and this is because they are not straight runners like the South Africans, and to a lesser extent, the Irish.
They just have that instinct to play off each other, and generally it works. Although the French can be frustrated by in-your-face defence, there are times when they have such movement and angles in attack that, when they get it right, they are unstoppable.
In terms of French representation in a World XV at the moment you would start with Dupont at scrum-half, and Jonathan Danty is so direct and effective in attack and defence that you could put him up against Springbok Damien de Allende at inside-centre. Penaud's form, and the way he makes so much of so little, demands that he gets in on the wing – and he would cruise into a Six Nations select team.
Overall, the French have about eight players knocking on the door. Flament is a grower – and if he was up against Maro Itoje now, you would pick the young French lock. In the back row, No.8 Greg Alldritt has just come alive again, and Ollivon was a constant threat at Twickenham.
At full-back Thomas Ramos is growing as a counter-attacking force with every game, and newcomer Ethan Dumortier looks a very good, hungry winger.
Against weak opposition New Zealand have earned a reputation for always finishing teams off, and France showed that ruthlessness against England. They have the time between now and the World Cup to improve even more, and to develop the psychology and inner belief that the title is theirs to lose.
If France take the next step, without becoming arrogant, or forgetful, and remember that it's the attention to small details that accumulate to grow into something far bigger, they could go the whole way.
