Every now and again sport goes through a glorious retro phase. Cricket is back where it used to be in the 1980s with West Indies smashing England in the Caribbean, while Wolves are once again a footballing force. England’s rugby men are also back in business, evoking memories of 2003 by taking Ireland to the cleaners in Dublin.
It is a large part of what keeps every sports lover coming back: the romantic idea that, despite years of evidence to the contrary, the good times will one day return. The Six Nations relies heavily on precisely that emotion. That sense of fresh faces on familiar old ground, honouring their predecessors and putting their bodies on the line for an almost mythical cause, is as powerful in the pubs and bars on an international weekend as it is on the pitches.
All it now requires is for French rugby to revert back to the future – and not just for the sake of the French. There were up to 20,000 empty seats in the Stade de France for the Wales game, for an assortment of reasons. Getting up to Paris from south-west France for a Friday night match requires commitment, let alone when it is wet and cold and your team lost at home to Fiji last time out. Figures published in the latest issue of Rugby World suggest this is part of a developing trend; the November games against Fiji and South Africa attracted barely 40,000 and 50,000 spectators respectively in an 80,000-capacity venue, many of them corporate giveaways.
This is not solely a French phenomenon – taxi drivers and hoteliers in Dublin reported fewer English visitors, with the spiralling cost of a Six Nations weekend clearly a growing issue. If, however, you could promise all potential patrons that France would rock up at Twickenham and even vaguely resemble their teams of old there would be queues of men and women in ceremonial berets stretching back to Richmond.
There were tantalising glimpses of it in the first half against Wales before, to borrow from Asterix the Gaul, the sky fell on their heads. Rather than enjoying another fortifying sip of magic potion, the home team’s squandering of a 16-0 half-time lead – a record in championship history – pretty much summed up French rugby’s split personality. They still want to go out and play, and have the individuals to do so, but any hint of consistency remains stubbornly elusive.
So what should their coaching staff do before Sunday’s visit to Twickenham, a venue where they have not beaten England in this tournament since 2005? They could do worse than brush the dust off three old videos that give the lie to the idea London is a bridge too far for French sides, starting with the famous length-of-the-field try finished off by Philippe Saint-André in 1991. It may not have won the game (and England still clinched a grand slam) but, in a public vote, it was voted the clear winner as the greatest try scored in 100 years of Test rugby at England headquarters.
11 Aug 2007
England 15-21 France (Tour match)
13 Feb 2005
England 17-18 France (Six Nations)
1 Mar 1997
England 20-23 France (Five Nations)
21 Feb 1987
England 15-19 France (Five Nations)
15 Jan 1983
England 15-19 France (Five Nations)
Those of us lucky enough to be in the East Stand that day will never forget the sight of Serge Blanco setting off optimistically from behind his own posts or Didier Camberabero tiptoeing up the right touchline, gathering his own chip and putting in a perfect cross kick for the lurking Saint-André to gather and beat Jeremy Guscott to the line.
Almost as pin-sharp 20 years on are the memories of the 1999 World Cup semi-final when Jonah Lomu and the All Blacks appeared to have reduced French hopes to the thickness of a steamrollered crêpe. From 24-10 down they staged a comeback to win 43-31 which made Wales’s effort last Friday seem positively pedestrian. Watching it again, it is interesting to note all three of France’s stunning second‑half tries from Christophe Dominici, Richard Dourthe and Philippe Bernat-Salles came from kicks of some description. Maybe there is a little subliminal message for this weekend in there somewhere.
And the third London flashback? France’s truly remarkable performance at Wembley in 1998 when they annihilated Wales 51-0 to clinch the last back-to-back championship grand slam any nation has achieved. Thomas Castaignède, Stéphane Glas, Christophe Lamaison, Raphaël Ibañez, Olivier Magne … what would France give for even a soupçon of their old-school excellence now?
Magne, as it happens, has been extremely outspoken following the defeat by Wales, calling for France to trust in youth and suggesting “we won’t win anything with the current generation”. He also believes the psychology of several established players is all wrong. “When I hear some players after games, it’s never their fault. At the first hitch, they collapse psychologically. This generation has been associated with defeat for too long … they are deeply traumatised.”
If ever there was a moment for Les Bleus to awake from their creative coma and channel their inner Asterix it is now.
Tartan terrors
Talking of anniversaries it is also 20 years ago that Scotland last won a championship title. An opening weekend victory against Italy is not always a sure indicator of impending glory but facing the Scots at Murrayfield is not the kind of prospect to ease Ireland back into the groove after their England disappointment. Let’s just say Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg carve it up and Scotland catch France on an off-day in Paris: what a final fortnight of Six Nations intrigue would then await. Ireland will be on the rebound but an Edinburgh ambush is far from impossible.
One to watch
Anyone who saw England’s women beat Ireland 51-7 on Saturday will know Eddie Jones’s team are not the only strong and improving Red Rose squad around just now. This Sunday could well supply their biggest test when they meet France, potentially their main title rivals, at Castle Park in Doncaster. If England’s 21-year-old prop Sarah Bern, in particular, has as eye-catching a game she had against Ireland, it will be well worth the price of admission.
