French stutter to an opening win

Press, 8 June 1989, Page 56

French stutter to an opening win

PA Pukekohe An experimental French lineup stuttered to a 24-21 win over a transitional Counties side at Pukekohe Stadium yesterday in France’s first outing of its tour of New Zealand.

In what could be described as a typical tour opener, the Tricolors dominated possession and rattled up three tries in the first 40 minutes to lead 21-9 at half-time. But they fell away in the second half and allowed a gutsy Counties side, through the boot of the first five-eighths, Stu Hollier, to close the gap to three points at the final whistle. In conditions that were fine overhead but soft underfoot, Hollier scored all the home side’s points, ending up with six penalty goals and a field goal. The French, with five new players in their starting lineup, won a ton of lineout possession in the first half. But their tall loose trio of flankers, Olivier Roumat and Alain Carminati and the No. 8, Laurent Rodriguez — and later Marc Cecillon who replaced Rodriguez after 30 minutes — were often beaten to the ball by the Counties’ open side flanker, Andrew Fleming. In the second half, perhaps with jet lag still a factor, the tourists’ efforts fell away. Counties, which is undergoing a rebuilding programme, went ahead

for the only time in the match when Hollier kicked a penalty goal after six minutes of the match. France hit back three minutes later, after a break by the left centre, Franck Mesnel. He brushed past two weak tackles, before passing inside to his fellow midfield back, Philippe Sella, who dotted down under the posts. The fullback, Serge Blanco, converted, and a later penalty goal put the visitors 9-3 ahead, and when France scored again midway through the first spell, there were fears Counties would suffer another humiliating defeat to go with its recent 67-0 loss to Waikato. With Roumat, Carminati and the lock, Jean Condom, dominating the lineouts, the French spent long periods inside opposition territory. In the twenty-fourth minute, the halfback, Pierre Berbizier, took a tap penalty and offloaded to Carminati who drove ahead. Rodriguez continued the momentum before the ball went through the backs to the flying left wing, Patrice Lagisquet,

who crossed over near the corner. Another Hollier penalty reduced the arrears, but Berbizier and Lagisquet again got into the act. From a scrum on the Counties 10m, the French halfback kicked ahead. With full-back, Richard Cole, unable to control the bouncing ball, Lagisquet toed ahead and scored. The captain, Alan Dawson, playing in his 201st game for the province, was back in his usual place on the side of the scrum after a late team change and he led from the front, assisted ably by the lock, Jim Coe. In the backs, the second fiveeighths, Carl Murray, provided a bit of flair of his own with a couple of jinking runs, while the centre, Gary Millington, produced a commendable defensive effort. For the French, Condom was his usual industrious self, but there will be worries over the looseness in the mauls, which allowed Counties to isolate the ball carrier, and the lack of speed of the loose trio. The French coach, Jacques Fouroux, said he was happy with the French performance. “We

won and that is important, and we scored three tries to none,” he said. “It was an ideal run to work on.” Mr Fouroux pointed out that the team France put out was experimental, with the whole front row, for example, being new internationals. The counties coach, Andy Dalton, said he expected France to develop into a great side. But he questioned the French predilection for keeping the ball among the forwards. “They were playing 10man rugby, driving off the rucks and the mauls. “Their strengths are in running the ball, and if they continue to play as they are trying to at the moment, the All Blacks will have them.” On his own team’s performance, Mr Dalton said developing confidence had been a big factor. "There has been a lot of pressure on these guys. Half a dozen of them are in their first season of representative rugby. It was a big step for them.” Scorers: France 24 (Patrice Lagisquet 2, Philippe Sella tries; Serge Blanco 2 penalty goals, 3 conversions) beat Counties 21 (Stu Hollier 6 penalty goals, drop goal).