Rugby World Cup: Parra steps forward for kicking duties

Morgan Parra is to do the goalkicking for France in their semifinal against Wales. Photo / Richard Robinson.

With Yachvili troubled by a leg injury, the French coach looks at another option

Dimitri Yachvili to play; Morgan Parra to do the goalkicking.

That looks a decent tip, 48 hours out from France's biggest game for four years, against Wales at Eden Park tomorrow night.

Veteran halfback Yachvili has been troubled by a heavily bruised thigh picked up in the quarter-final win against England. He has been on light duties this week and French fingers are crossed that the 31-year-old, among the more influential members of the side, will get to the start line.

His goalkicking statistics in the cup took a slight dent against England, when he managed two from four, dropping him to 16/20 for the tournament.

Parra, the heir apparent at No 9 but switched to first five-eighths during the cup, nailed nine from 10 against Canada during pool play and his solitary shot, after the final whistle, against England bounced off an upright.

Only the All Blacks' latest goalkicking ace, Piri Weepu, with 11 from 12, can thumb his nose at the French numbers. Australia's James O'Connor, by comparison, is going at 16/21.

So France are as well served as any team at the cup for kicking options.

"He will be rested as much as possible," France's kicking coach, the former Argentine player Gonzalo Quesada, said yesterday of Yachvili.

"The objective is to make sure he is 100 per cent."

Quesada drew a distinction between Yachvili playing, and taking the kicks. Expect the first, hedge your money on the second.

"He is still in a certain amount of pain. The muscle that is affected is the one he will use to kick - and it certainly didn't help that he was kicking last week when he was injured."

Parra, France's youngest player at 22, has already logged 34 caps and is up for the task, if it falls to him.

"I've been kicking throughout the whole tournament and if I have to do it I'll take the responsibility for that," he said.

He acknowledged a slight adjustment in his relationship with Yachvili. Once were rivals, now are partners might sum it up.

"Sometimes when you have a rivalry you tend to speak less. Now we are working together things are going pretty well so it's a different kind of relationship," he said.

Those with a superstitious bent will have noted that all Parra's 28 points at the cup have come while playing at halfback.

However the young man from Clermont Auvergne doesn't immediately appeal as a twitchy type.

So coach Marc Lievremont had no hesitation is making what seemed a bold move to switch Parra out one backline spot for the All Blacks game in pool play.

He copped his share of flak from disbelieving onlookers, but stuck to his convictions.

When Parra orchestrated France's first try against England with a slick double-round play for Vincent Clerc to get his sixth of the tournament, Lievremont would have felt justified in banging the coaching box table in a manner of "I told you so".

"From the moment I realised that Francois Trinh Duc wasn't at his best and that he seemed to doubt himself, and that David Skrela was forced to withdraw due to injury, the choice of naming Morgan at No 10 became obvious," Lievremont said.

France will finalise their starting XV today.