French halfback Morgan Parra. Photo / Reuters
PARIS - France's rediscovered appetite for running the ball will not suffer from the lessons taught by a far more pragmatic England side, coach Marc Lievremont promised.
"No, absolutely not," Lievremont said when asked whether Sunday's (NZ time) 24-13 Six Nations defeat by the World Cup runners-up might
change his conception of how the game should be played.
"Maybe we were not mature or patient enough but we kept trying things and I liked that," added the coach, who had taken a gamble by picking a team with players hardly tested at strategic positions and no specialist goalkicker.
While France thrilled the Stade de France crowd with often daring and sometimes naive moves, England stuck to what they do best, grinding their arch-rivals in the scrums and mauls and relying on the clinical boot of Jonny Wilkinson.
The England first five-eighths, who kicked 14 points including a world test record 29th drop goal, had encouraging words for the French afterwards.
"They must continue in that direction," he said. "Playing that way, they can beat any team in the world. There's a lot we can learn from them."
Since being appointed in the wake of France's defeat by England in the World Cup semifinals on the same Stade de France pitch four months ago, Lievremont has kept rejuvenating the side and advocating a fluent brand of rugby.
It soon became obvious his idea was to do exactly the opposite of his predecessor Bernard Laporte, who broke away from a rich tradition by relying on dull tactics based on defending and kicking.
Victories over Scotland and Ireland in the defending champions' first two matches in the Six Nations campaign won Lievremont praise from the local media.
He continued changing everything, raising a few eyebrows when he named his team to face England which included 19-year-old halfback Morgan Parra, who had played only a few minutes of international rugby and never started a match for France before.
On the day, the fresh-faced number nine looked constantly bold under sustained pressure, suggesting he could become a symbol for Lievremont's desire to reinvent French flair.
"It came down to little things," Parra said after the game. "This match will help us move forward. We're a young team and we will improve. We must keep our heads held high."
- REUTERS
