The enigmatic French
Rugby is a simple game
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2007
FACTS AND FIGURES
Winter 2007
deliver quality players and the national team's governing body. And nobody
has suffered more than the players who turn out for the national team.
They are worn out by the demands of playing at the highest league level, and
worn down by the failure of the parties above them to reach a peace deal.
England players who were outstanding in 2003, like full back Josh
Lewsey and hooker Steve Thompson, who should now be at the peak of
their powers, are completely off-colour.
Of course, it's never too late to turn fortunes around. But England
racked up eight defeats in their last nine games before the start of the last
Six Nations competition that preceded the 2007 World Cup. And coach
Andy Robinson was sacked just before Christmas last year. It seems highly
improbable that England can pull themselves together in time.
For South Africa, meanwhile, where volatile politics have always been a
feature of the national game, things have been mostly business as usual.
Which means that Springbok coach Jake White has suffered constant
criticism over his selections and tactics since the day he took the job.
He took the risk of resting seven of his top players for the tour to
Europe in the autumn of 2006. He lost once at Twickenham to wobbly
England but finished the tour at the same venue with a welcome win that
may have eased the pressure on himself and his players.
Once the team is bolstered by the reintegration of experienced players
like Victor Matfield in the second row and scrum half Fourie Du Preez, the
Springboks may begin to rediscover their old confidence. Like Australia,
they do not automatically quake at the idea of playing against New Zealand.
Finally, there is France. To me this team has always been totally enigmatic
and utterly confusing, and it looks like they are still both. Last autumn they
chose not to use the tactics that have succeeded so well for them in the
past against the All Blacks.
That is, they chose not to run smooth plays through Yannick Jauzion in
the centre, or to get the ball out to Christophe Dominici on the wing, where
he did so well against the New Zealanders. No, last year they chose to kick
the ball up in the air and then to run after it.
Of course, this may all have been part of a master plan by coach
Bernard Laporte. He, too, has known failure at the World Cup. His French
team imploded against England in the rain in a Sydney semi final in 2003,
when they had been touted as the form team of that tournament.
Whether anything much can be expected from the French team remains
to be seen. On the face of it, they are struggling with as many off-field spats
between clubs and country as there are in England. Exhaustion and over
playing are ever-present issues in France too.
And yet, the flaky French team somehow sums up the possibilities of the
2007 Rugby World Cup.
As we have seen, the All Blacks are clearly miles ahead of all the other
teams that will be competing. The New Zealanders are, moreover, obsessed
with the elusively wretched prize - or rather by their failure to win it on any
occasion except the first Rugby World Cup in 1987, which they played on
home soil.
Friday 07 September - Saturday 20 October 2007
RWC is the world's fourth largest sporting event
In 2007, an estimated four billion people will be watching the
tournament on TV screens in over 200 countries
20 nations playing against one another in 48 matches over a six
week period
Rugby has been the world's fastest growing sporting occasion
over the past decade in terms of broadcast reach and live
spectators
Heineken has been a partner and the official beer of the RWC
for the past 12 years, sponsoring the tournament in 1995 in
South Africa and 2003 in Australia
More than 30% of Heineken's global volume is consumed in the
major rugby playing nations
Heineken's partnership with the RWC in 2007 will be activated
worldwide with a focus on the major rugby playing nations of
IrolanH IIK Franco Australia Mow 7oalanH anrl Qmith Afrira
Since then, they have always come unstuck. Even when they have been
regarded as overwhelming favourites, they have tended to find themselves
up against an inspired set of opponents.
This time it is harder to find the opposition that might rise to the
challenge. But one of the teams surely will.
In an obvious sense, of course, who wins the 2007 Rugby World Cup
depends on how the tournament goes. Everything could just go according
to form, as I have outlined. On the other hand, one or more of the teams
taking part could produce a performance of unpredictable genius that
swings things in quite a different direction.
But if you're putting money on the outcome, it might be good to
remember that rugby is, in the end, a simple game. And one team at the
moment is simply better than the rest.
Eddie Butler writes in his personal capacity. The views expressed in this
article do not reflect those of Heineken or of its employees.
PAGE 13
