THE FRENCH love a good debate and last weekend’s debacle deserves special attention. Losing in Rome to an adventurous Italian side was one thing, going down in their own back…
France
RBS 6 Nations match review: France 6-16 Wales
This was a drab game, full of errors and lacking inspiration, with little to entertain as players trudged from scrum to scrum. In fact, it look like the pitch was…
RBS 6 Nations: Can Bastareaud help restore French pride?
PHILIPPE SAINT-ANDRE has kept faith with his fumbling French side for the visit of Wales to the Stade de France on Saturday evening. Instead of bringing down the guillotine on…
RBS 6 Nations match review: Italy 23-18 France
IT WAS heavily assumed that France, with all their resources and illustrious red-carpet players, would enter Rome and destroy the Azzzurri. However, before the anthems had even finished there was…
RBS 6 Nations: Does this mighty lock hold key to French success?
ROMAIN TAOFIFENUA is a big lad. Just how big remains something of a mystery. According to which paper you read in France, his weight in the last few months has…
Wilkinson odds on for Top14 award
RESTAURANTS IN France have Michelin Stars, rugby players have Midi Olympique stars. They are awarded in each Monday’s edition of the newspaper to the players who have caught the eye…
Erratic Toulouse have it tough taming the Tigers
NO DOUBT about the tie of this weekend – Toulouse’s visit to Leicester for a winner takes all confrontation. Between them they’ve won the Heineken Cup six times with the…
Heineken Cup Round 5: Five must-watch clashes
SPORTING CLICHES are often abused. Every tournament has a Group of Death and every player is weighed and measured to see if they will be found inferior or capable of…
Balshaw hoping to extend his French stay
FOR ALL the talk in recent weeks about Jonny Wilkinson, and will-he-or-won’t-he sign on for another stint at Toulon, there’s another Englishman in the south of France in a similar…
New Year predictions: 2013
GET THE chopping block ready. Remove the ceremonial stretching-rings. It's time to put my neck on the line. The season has, so far, provided very few genuine shocks. However, as…