It’s like the Chelsea siege mentality but with less winning
Despite their winning start to the 2015 Six Nations, France, their coach Philippe Saint-André, and their players are taking flak for their altogether uninspiring style of play.
Les Bleus have not been themselves – running rugby, speed, flair, ambition, fecklessness – since around 2008 and have a sole Six Nations title in the past eight years. Their current game is based on grinding power and tactical kicking and, for the most part, it has failed to inspire or produce wins.
For the last three seasons, France have finished outside the championship’s top three [they finished rock bottom in 2013]. Many of the team’s homegrown critics, in the media, followed them to Dublin this weekend. Before he flew out from Paris, however, France centre Wesley Fofana had some words of discouragement for the fourth estate.
‘Same old same old,’ Fofana began. ‘Despite everything that can be said, fair or not, we try to stay in our own little bubble.
‘What the media say can’t hurt me, the staff and the other players are the only ones I will listen to. If journalists want to blame me, no problem. The staff are very protective of us. We’re trying to control what we can, and journalists can write whatever they want.
Even when we win, we’re criticised. See, there is you, there is us, and in between there is a fence. We can hear what you have to say, but it doesn’t really matter to us.’
Ireland prop Jack McGrath believes France, even in their current guise, possess a threat. He said, ‘When they are backed into a corner, that is when they are most dangerous. Somebody can just cut the line or one of their big players can make a line break.
‘They can show that French flair at any point; they’ve been doing that since the beginning of rugby time, so it’s something we’ll all have to be aware of.’
