Tindall out to 'annoy' Les Bleus
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:46
Surprised? Mike Tindall returns to the England line-up
Mike Tindall said "annoying the French" was one of the reasons he
plays rugby after he was handed a shock recall to an England side
bidding to end France's Grand Slam hopes.
Tindall, a World Cup winning teammate of England manager Martin Johnson
back in 2003, has only made three starts for Gloucester after his
recent return following 16 weeks out with a hamstring injury.
Nevertheless, the centre has been pitched straight into the starting
side to face France in Paris on Saturday in the final match of the 2010
Six Nations.
"It was a bit of a surprise - with one game left I wasn't expecting to
be involved but of course it was nice to get the call," said the
31-year-old Tindall, brought in after Mathew Tait was dropped to the
bench.
"I will do what I normally do," said Tindall, whose aggressive style is
what many believe England will need to help counter the physical threat
of giant France centre Mathieu
Bastareaud.
"One thing I can bring is a little bit of experience but I'll do my
usual stuff and hopefully that will be enough," added Tindall, who will
be winning his 61st cap at the Stade de France.
France have been the team of the tournament and go into this match on the back of a six-try rout of Italy.
England, by contrast, have been hesitant and imprecise - last weekend
they couldn't manage a single try in a 15-15 draw with Scotland.
They have also been beaten by Ireland, a side France demolished 33-10, this Six Nations.
But Tindall, whose eight Tests against France dating back to 2000 are
evenly split between four wins and four defeats, is excited by the
challenge of having another crack at 'Les Bleus'.
"We haven't been able to get our game going and we're going into a
match against a team that has hit the ground running and got their game
going," Tindall said.
"The thing I enjoy
about it is that it's a chance for us to really
annoy the French, spoil their party and silence their crowd at the
Stade de France. That is one of the reasons I play rugby!"
Tindall, who will be playing his first Test in nearly a year, said
England could take heart from their 34-10 Twickenham trouncing of
France in last season's Six Nations.
"We've just to go out there and do what we did against them last year," he recalled.
"Last year we didn't really worry about France we just got our own game
right. The first 20 minutes will be key - if we can get out there,
impose our game on them and silence the crowd that will be a massive
bonus."
Bastareaud featured in that match and Tindall said: "He played last year and we did all right last year."
However, he added: "If they (France) come out strong and get the crowd
behind them it makes for a different animal. That is the challenge for
us.
"It's going to
be physical, it's going to be fast and it's going to be
hard, and that's the way I like to play," Tindall insisted.
"I've had good memories at the Stade de France - we won (15-9) the
first time I went there in 2000. I'm sure we've lost a couple there too
but I like going over there and playing. It is a place where you can
silence the crowd."
AFP
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