Preview: France v Canada
The French were underwhelming in the first half of their last match against Romania before pulling away from the Eastern Europeans after half-time, and coach Philippe Saint-Andre has picked a strong side as they look to build momentum ahead of their key clash with Ireland which is likely to decide which side will top the pool.
Canada were very impressive in their narrow defeat to Italy on Saturday, but their challenge will be on lifting themselves up for another Tier One challenge after just five days.
Saint-Andre – who ends a controversial three year reign after the World Cup – is hoping he will not have to repeat his Alex Ferguson hairdryer moment in last week's game against Romania.
The woeful first-half performance provoked the 48-year-old former France captain into a dressing-room rant during the break which was caught on camera.
"A coach needs to be able to scream when needed, and to congratulate his players when things are going well," said Saint-Andre ahead of the Canada game in Milton Keynes.
"Apparently cameras are mandatory, so next time I’m getting upset, we’ll go under the showers," he quipped.
However, Saint-Andre accepts his side will have to go up a notch against a Canada side that showed a marked improvement in the 23-18 loss to Italy from the one mown down by a relentless Irish surge of attacks in the opening 50-5 thrashing.
"We have to be better in the rucks," said Saint-Andre.
"In modern rugby, there are 150-180 rucks per match, so we have to be more accurate.
"I expect my team to be better in this area and show more discipline on Thursday."
Frederic Michalak, who resumes his halfback partnership with Toulon teammate Sebastien Tillous-Borde that Saint-Andre prefers, should garner the three points he requires to pass Thierry Lacroix's World Cup points national record of 124.
Saint-Andre, though, has given some key players a rest. Fijian-born wing Noa Nakatici and No.8 Louis Picamoles, who have played both pool games and the warm-up Tests before will sit the match out. The absence of Nakaitaci allows the first blooding at this level of Remy Grosso.
"Louis played the three friendlies in the lead-up to the World Cup, then two matches with a four-day turnover, just as Noa Nakaitaci," said Saint-Andre.
"They need some recovery time – to gain back some freshness – and will work on other skills in the next few days.”
Canada coach Kieran Crowley is the only handler at the tournament to have won the Webb Ellis trophy as a player.
He has established a side with some useful backs and DTH van der Merwe's try against the Italians is certainly one of the best of the tournament so far.
Crowley's main fear is that the short space in between the two games against two fully professional sides as opposed to his which numbers some amateurs in it will prove too much for his plucky Canucks and a similar scoreline of 46-19 from the last World Cup could be on the cards.
"That's the biggest challenge when you have short turnarounds, the mental side of it," said the 54-year-old, who was a member of the All Blacks squad that won the inagural trophy in 1987 beating the French.
"You put a lot into it physically, but you also put a lot into it mentally.
"When I was involved in Test match rugby it used to take me about a week to come back down before I was ready to go again."
Players to watch:
For France: South African-born fullback Scott Spedding should be safe at the back and it will be interesting to see how both wings fare with Brice Dulin playing out of position and Remy Grosso making his debut. Frederic Michalak will hopefully bring the dangerous Wesley Fofana into the game. Bernard le Roux is back in his more familiar position of flank and plays alongside returning captain Thierry Dusautoir who will be looking to hit his straps, as will veteran lock Pascal Pape.
For Canada: Both wings DTH van der Merwe and Phil Mackenzie make things happen with the ball in hand, while flyhalf Nathan Hirayama will provide the creative spark in the backline. In the forward pack captain Tyler Ardron will lead from the front, big Jamie Cudmore will make his presence felt and veteran hooker Aaron Carpenter provides plenty of experience.
Head to head: Brice Dulin should have his hands full out wide up against DTH van der Merwe and closer to the ruck it will be interesting to see how the two unpredictable flyhalves Frederic Michalak and Nathan Hirayama measure up. Damien Chouly will be desperate to show his worth in the absence of Louis Picamoles, but will have to upstage Canada skipper Tyler Ardron. Up front Pascal Pape will know exactly what to expect up against Jamie Cudmore having faced him in many a Top 14 battle over the years.
Recent results:
2011: France won 46-19 in Napier
2005: France won 50-6 in Nantes
2004: France won 47-13 in Toronto
2002: France won 35-3 in Paris
1999: France won 33-20 in Beziers
1994: France won 28-9 in Besancon
1994: Canada won 18-16 in Nepean
1991: France won 19-13 in Agen
Prediction: Canada will fight hard and leave nothing on the pitch, but this is a strong French side that should be able to win by about 15 points.
Teams:
Canada: 15 Matt Evans, 14 Phil Mackenzie, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH Van Der Merwe, 10 Nathan Hirayama, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (captain), 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Kyle Gilmour, 5 Jamie Cudmore, 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Doug Wooldridge, 2 Aaron Carpenter, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements: 16 Ray Barkwill, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Andrew Tiedemann, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Gordon McRorie, 22 Harry Jones, 23 Conor Trainor.
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Brice Dulin, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Sebastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin.
Date: Thursday, October 1
Venue: Stadium MK, Milton Keynes
Kick-off: 20.00 (19.00 GMT; 21.00 French Time; 15.00 Canadian Eastern Time)
Expected weather: Partly cloudy, high of 17, 10 kph wind
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
