KiwiRooster says...

What a great guy Imanol, it's good to see him back at his best with Biarritz Olympique. Combined with Dusautoir (our new captain as consistent as ever for both club and country) and Picamole (a real gem at 8 for Stade Toulousain), les Bleus have the potential for upsetting the Boks. Watch out the new pair of centres David (Toulouse) and Mermoz (Perpignan) for their first selection together. It should be explosive. My only surprise came from the selection of Traille at fullback. He is a great centre with a great boot but he is no fullback nor half back. I hope Marc Lievremont does not make the same mistake as his predecessor Laporte by playing the card of polyvalence at all cost. At the time, we were lacking consistent specialists at every position, but it is no longer the case. At fullback, I see no one else but Medard (Toulouse) -in spite of his recent dip in form - and Porical (Perpignan) who will have to wait a little bit longer for his first selection. Pity Ducalcon (prop) and Burban (flanker) were forced to leave the group due to injuries. Ducalcon is a modern prop very similar to Fabien Barcella with lots of speed and power. Burban is very physical in a Schalk Burger sort of way. I hope we will see them for the Six Nations. And most of all: I hope we will see Benjamin Fall on the pitch. I dubbed this 20 yo winger as the "French Lote Tuqiri" (minus the various scandals). He is fast, agile, powerful and has excellent vision. The road to New Zealand is long but we are definitely on the right path. Allez les Bleus!

Posted 00:27 10th November 2009