Expert Witness: Thomas Lombard on Le Crunch
Expert Witness is joined by former French back Thomas Lombard, now the leading French commentator on the sport with Canal+Infosport, to discuss the match ahead.
Crunch time
With England in question and France in crisis, this year’s fixture at Stade de France holds a special significance for both sides.
Criticism of England’s imbalance and stodginess came home to roost at Murrayfield in the last round whilst France’s fitness, structure and selection are still way short of the level needed for a sustainable, competitive international team.
Lombard is relishing the clash and sees England’s physical strength as being their tactical weakness:
“Let’s deal with the match itself first.
“Top 14 rugby is one of attrition, close quarter power and arm-wrestles. If a game is played around these qualities, then France remain competitive, especially with the power of our set-piece,” he explained.
“France are well and truly the underdogs going into this game and our expectations are based upon hope rather than form or logic. But that hope can be realised if France are able to make England revert to the slow, forward based driving game they adopted against Scotland.
“France will believe that slower the game, the closer the contact areas are to the forwards, then the greater chance we have.
“If you look back to France’s performances this season, when the game has remained tight, France have looked dangerous, especially when Teddy Thomas was able to inject a counterpoint of pace into the match. As soon as the match tempo is upped, our players are not offering the fitness levels and mobility levels that are required to be effective.
“Yes, England have the ability to raise that tempo, but as Rob Andrew pointed out yesterday, they have a habit of not reacting to what’s happening on the pitch and staying slavish to their structure, when pressured,” noted Lombard.
“However, for me, the key points from this game are how England learn from Murrayfield and react, but also, as a Frenchman, how France use their platform to create a sustainable style moving forward.
“Yes, England are deserved favourites, but should they not raise their pace of thinking and execution then they may be in for a hard-slugging game and as long as that happens, France can stay with them,” he concluded.
The cash cow
Looking beneath the surface of the form-book, France’s issues have been similar for the decade or so. There are many theories on why; from foreign imports, to the slow tempo of the domestic game, but Lombard believes that all of those theories are underpinned by the inability of the FFR to invest properly, and that starts at home, namely the Stade de France:
“One of the great advantages the other home unions have over France is the fact they own, or are the primary tenant, of their own stadia.
“This is a massive cash cow for the Unions. Take Twickenham as an example; the monetisation of the stadium facility, through rock concerts like The Police or Eminem, extra Premiership games and other activities such as the hotel leases give the RFU a massive sum of money that can be invested into player development, game promotion and club facilities (at both professional and amateur level).
“This allows a really sustainable income stream which in turn allows England Rugby to create long-term solid plans for rugby development within England.
“In France, the FFR are but mere tenants at Stade de France. The income derived from an international will be diluted by the stadium rental commitments, and further, any plan for a secondary event at the stadium has no benefit at all for French Rugby as we have no stakeholding beyond our ability to hire the ground.
“That economic differential is crippling the development of France at junior and professional level; remember, France rarely plays rugby in school or university. We use the local club as the centre for rugby promotion, and there’s no ability or mechanism to change this,” observed Lombard.
The trade deficit
“Alongside this, you have the fact that club income is then predominantly invested in the finished article, the overseas player, rather than the emerging academy player. The sugar daddies of the clubs want instant results and developing the players that can deliver that from within is a lot more expensive than simply importing another. It’s almost we have a player ‘trade deficit’,” he quipped.
“I also question how we’re developing those youngsters; again, using England as a benchmark, Academy development will be run in parallel with an academic programme based upon partner universities and schools, with the RPA contributing to this agenda, so if a player fails or gets injured, he has qualifications for a career outside the game.
“In France, we don’t use this model, so entering an Academy is a more binary choice; there’s no bail-out if it’s needed.
“This has really come to the fore when looking at the second league of France, the Pro D2. Within that league any thought of feeder club development has fallen by the wayside as even at this level, overseas imports are the favoured route.
“The whole picture combined is a bleak one, and great change is needed within our club structure in order for the national side to succeed,” concluded the former Warriors wing.
The bright side
“Looking on the bright side, I do believe that under Jacques Brunel, there’s a small change in attitude for the better on the training field and pitch.
“Gone is the directive style of Guy Noves and in its place, Brunel and Julien Bonairre are trying to implement a more ‘decision based’ style of rugby. Yes, we still have issues such as the French style relies more so on the number nine being the match general and having less time and room to dictate the tactics than a traditional number ten, but I have seen an improvement, especially in the close quarter play of the back-row and front-row.
“But, returning to the game on Saturday, if we win, it’ll be great, but it will only paper over the deep cracks of a failing structure, and until those issues are addressed at the core of the game, we will not be able to find the consistency and sustainable style needed to be up there with the best.”
Once again, Expert Witness thanks Thomas for his time and we will return next with former Ireland hooker Shane Byrne to look at the final weekend.
Thomas Lombard was a gifted runner in the colours of France, Racing, Stade Francais, Worcester Warriors and Racing 92, gaining 16 caps. He is now a commentator on the game with Canal Infosport, where his rounded views and rugby intellect always inspire debate and respect. In 2016, he was voted France’s favourite rugby pundit by the Top 14 coaches and Midi-Oympique.
by James While