French get the 'freedom of the field'
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:54
The second-string French backline has been given the freedom to attack the Wallabies in the first of two internationals in Sydney on Saturday, scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili said Friday.
France have been forced to field an under-strength team against the Australians with most of their leading stars staying behind for domestic championship play-offs.
Yachvili, on his fourth trip to Australia and set for his 36th Test, his Biarritz teammate centre Damien Traille (63 caps) and Agen fullback Pepito Elhorga (17 caps) are the experienced members of the French backline.
They will come up against a Wallabies' backline buttressed by skipper outside centre Stirling Mortlock, flyhalf Matt Giteau, and wing Lote Tuqiri, who have 171 caps between them - plus two World Cup campaigns each.
Yachvili said the French backs had plenty of talent and speed, particularly Elhorga, and warned the Wallabies against underestimating them.
"Although they are not very known internationally, in our championship they are good players, they have many qualities and I hope they show you on Saturday," Yachvili said.
"They are very good players in our championship. They all deserve to play for the French team.
"Not just one player, but many players with promise, and this is a good opportunity to show their qualities."
Yachvili said French coach Marc Lievremont has given his backs a license to attack.
Lievremont, who replaced World Cup coach Bernard Laporte, went on record before this year's Six Nations tournament as saying he wanted France to play "deliberately expansive and even excessive".
"[There are] no restrictions," Yachvili said of the backline's instructions.
"They have to play with their head empty. They are going to play as themselves and we don't have to put pressure on them.
"We just have to help them to play with their head in good positions."
Yachvili said the Wallabies, playing their second match under New Zealand coach Robbie Deans, were the favourites.
"They are a very big team. I think they are one of the best teams in the world, so it's going to be very tough, very hard," he said.
"But we will try and do the best we can to beat them."
Australia and France are both in transition -- both have new coaches, new players, new combinations, new game styles and new spirit.
"It is a new era. The French and Australian teams have changed coaches. There is a new system of game coming in," said Traille, the sole survivor of the French loss to England in last October's World Cup semifinal in Paris.
"I have been in a team that has made a lot of campaigns and created its own history," Traille said. "But now it is a younger team and we want to create our own history."
Biarritz back-rower Imanol Harinordoquy, 28 and with 45 caps, has embraced Lievremont's overhaul of the French team.
"It is now another game built on initiative, not on failure but experimentation," Harinordoquy said.
"We have worked a lot on the state of spirit, to bring back the enthusiasm and create a strong group spirit.
"It has given me a fresh start to go and challenge myself. It's always interesting in sport, to do something new."
AFP
