Trio De Triomphe

By DAVID LEGGAT

Call them the Biarritz Bombshell, the Stubborn Basque and the Angry Man.

Or call them the best loose forward trio in world rugby.

Either way, that's what will confront England in Sunday night's World Cup semifinal.

If England are to make the final, they must find a way to nullify the huge influence of Imanol Harinordoquy, Serge Betsen and Olivier Magne.

If they don't France will have taken a significant step towards victory.

Since Harinordoquy made his test debut against France in Cardiff last year - ironically replacing Magne, who missed the game through suspension after Italian winger Dennis Dallan's head had connected with the sole of Magne's boot a few days earlier - the trio have teamed up in 17 tests.

They complement each other superbly.

Harinordoquy, at 23 the youngest of the three, is a fine athlete, a lineout kingpin, powerful runner and deceptively quick.

Born in the Basque country, he has the region's characteristic obstinate streak, and is not a man who likes to lose an argument.

Betsen, born in the Cameroon, got his first cap in 1997 but it took time for him to cement a place in the starting XV.

Not an especially big man at 1.84m, Betsen is a relentless harasser of opposing inside backs. Jonny Wilkinson knows him well and has had plenty of close contact, so to speak.

Fierce in the tackle, Betsen, who has 35 caps, has been arguably the most consistently impressive of the three this year.

Magne was an integral part of the French march to the 1999 cup final, a brilliant, aggressive footballer, an extrovert with a ruthless streak who has a low flashpoint. France's angry man.

But getting the three of them to talk about their relationship is easier said than done.

All tend to take the same line: France is about a 15-player collective rather than compartmentalising the loose forwards.

Even their captain won't buy into the topic of The Big Three.

"The quality of the back row is a collective," Fabien Galthie said.

Betsen's autobiography is called Faire le Soleil - Une vie de Rugby or Making Sunshine - My Life in Rugby.

In it he says: "My book is first and foremost a hymn to the oval ball ... it is also a prayer to God who gave me the privileged destiny - the destiny of a little Cameroonian who arrived one day in the suburbs of Paris."

Linking rugby with sunshine and a hymn suggests a feeling of thanks for what life has brought him.

This is a "new" Frenchman who is taking every chance life has presented him with.

He went to an analyst last year to try to cure an excitable nature. He was found to be suffering severe anxiety, a result of getting too worked up, too eager to please.

Now he has adopted the French way: what will be, will be.

As for 30-year-old Magne, who plays his 71st test on Sunday, he's not one for the Three Musketeers line either.

"It is most important to play as a team, 15 players, not one, or Serge, Imanol or me," says Magne.

Told that Harinordoquy had described him as the angry man, Magne glanced across the hotel foyer at the big Basque, paused and fixed him with a beady eye, then said with a slow smile: "You have to understand, Imanol says many stupid things."

Still, after a few minutes up close with Magne, you can see Harinordoquy's point.

This is a man you want on your side.

A knock on Harinordoquy's door may have been the next item on Magne's programme for that day.

And what of Harinordoquy?

"We are very different. We don't like to lose, so we are similar in that," he says.

"When I look at Serge I see a lot of passion. Olivier is the extrovert. He always says what he thinks.

"Me? I can be very quiet. I get very nervous."

And a comparison with England's back three of Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back and Richard Hill.

"We are less strong in our physique - but we play with more speed."

Speed of thought as well as speed of movement.

Watch for them to run off each other from the back of the scrum, link with the backs as support men to ensure continuity.

Aspiring loose forwards should take note of what will be a masterclass in the requirements of the role on Sunday night.

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