France 2014 Six Nations Thread

[Big Ewis]

Yeah I know this looks like a crappy "hey I want one !!!!" type of thread since England and Wales and (even) Italy have one, but it's not. It's just to keep things tidy. A bunch of news and consequent discussions will eventually start soon about the French XV so we'll post the stuff here.



Okay, so just a reminder our 30 selected Bleus so far are:
[h=3]AVANTS[/h] Piliers
Thomas DOMINGO (Clermont), Yannick FORESTIER (Castres), Nicolas MAS (Montpellier), Rabah SLIMANI (Paris)
Talonneurs
Benjamin KAYSER (Clermont), Dimitri SZARZEWSKI (Racing-Métro 92)
Deuxièmes ligne
Alexandre FLANQUART (Paris), Yoann MAESTRI (Toulouse), Pascal PAPE (Paris), Sébastien VAHAAMAHINA (Perpignan)
Troisièmes ligne
Antoine BURBAN (Paris), Damien CHOULY (Clermont),Thierry DUSAUTOIR (Toulouse), Bernard LE ROUX (Racing-Métro 92), Yannick NYANGA (Toulouse), Louis PICAMOLES (Toulouse)



[h=3]ARRIERES[/h] Demis de mêlée
Jean-Marc DOUSSAIN (Toulouse), Maxime MACHENAUD (Racing-Métro 92)
Demis d’ouverture
Jules PLISSON (Paris), Rémi TALES (Castres)
Centres
Mathieu BASTAREAUD (Toulon), Gaël FICKOU (Toulouse), Wesley FOFANA (Clermont), Maxime MERMOZ (Toulon)
Ailiers
Sofiane GUITOUNE (Perpignan), Yoann HUGET (Toulouse), Maxime MEDARD (Toulouse), Geoffrey PALIS (Castres)
Arrières
Hugo BONNEVAL (Paris), Brice DULIN (Castres)



A quick asterisk here to note that as we all know Morgan Parra has come back from injury very prematurely as he's helped Clermont claim a win last weekend. Phillipe Saint-André has already extended his intention of including Parra back into the group.

Again, 7 mofos will be dropped on Jan. 19th and we'll be left with 23 pretty internationals.


Our schedule:
1 vs England
2 vs Italy
3 at Cardiff
4 at Edinburgh
5 vs Ireland

 

[Aristodemus]

Wooden spoon again

 

[Big Ewis]

Wooden spoon again

Hey listen u pom at least we didnt get annihilated in every possible sector of the game for 80min. FFIDRAC boooooh ! Thought itd be spookier upside down....worry not though ! Ull get another chance this year and it seems to be the one ! (Ahemmmm......). Plus we pleased u cocky mint breathers last year with our glorious spoon. This year we want a ***le baby. A ***le with a capital "t"........oh thats right.

 

[Aristodemus]

That was all in jest, forgive me. I think with a bit of luck France can actually succeed this year and achieve the lofty heights of finishing above the mighty Italy.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hey listen u pom at least we didnt get annihilated in every possible sector of the game for 80min.

Yeah, doing it for 400mins is far more impressive.

 

[Big Ewis]

That was all in jest, forgive me. I think with a bit of luck France can actually succeed this year and achieve the lofty heights of finishing above the mighty Italy.

Yeah, doing it for 400mins is far more impressive.

Ah ah...im talkin getting smashed in every facet of the game, not consistently losing but by thin margins my friend. Plus your answer is no fun... My amusement has ceased...return to sniffing ure precious mint !!! BEGONE !

 

[Holiver]

I'll be rooting for France, not only because I'm French, but because I do think that we have the players to win the tournament. My only concern is our coach, he needs to stick to certain players, those who know each other and how to play together, otherwise we'll always have a bunch of ridiculous lads not knowing what to do on the pitch and committing knock-on after knock on.

 

[Big Ewis]

I'll be rooting for France, not only because I'm French, but because I do think that we have the players to win the tournament. My only concern is our coach, he needs to stick to certain players, those who know each other and how to play together, otherwise we'll always have a bunch of ridiculous lads not knowing what to do on the pitch and committing knock-on after knock on.

agreed. You saw that FRA TON match some months ago ? Our backs (at times) literally looked like guys we woke up, forced out of bed with water in their face and a spring under the mattress and on to the court and threw a Rugby ball and a Tongan defense at. There's one play in particular when, never seen it before, Médard or someone literally stops his race and looks around and saturates the whole play entirely because he had literally no idea what to do. No reflexes, no chemistry.
Say what you will about the LNR-FFR agreement. Two weeks together sounds mighty, mighty merited and fiiiiiiiiiine to this Iraqi.

 

[IRISH RUGBY MAN]

Could be a very very exciting back line for the French. Would love to see this team
1. Thomas Domingo
2. Benjamin Kayser
3. Nicolas Mas
4. Sebastien Vahaamina
5. Yoann Maesrti
6. Antoine Burban
7. Thierry Dusatoir (C)
8. Louis Picamoles
9. Jean-Marc Doussain
10. Jules Plisson
11. Sofiane Guitone
12. Wesley Fofana
13. Gael Fickou
14. Yoann Huget
15. Brice Dulin

extreamly unlikely to see this team but would be some team. I see it as the one to go to the World Cup.
France have a good chance this year, if PSA plays the right team and sticks with it

 

[Holiver]

Yeah Guitoune is great, hopefully PSA will put him alongside Fofana.

 

[Big Ewis]

Could be a very very exciting back line for the French. Would love to see this team
1. Thomas Domingo
2. Benjamin Kayser
3. Nicolas Mas
4. Sebastien Vahaamina
5. Yoann Maesrti
6. Antoine Burban
7. Thierry Dusatoir (C)
8. Louis Picamoles
9. Jean-Marc Doussain
10. Jules Plisson
11. Sofiane Guitone
12. Wesley Fofana
13. Gael Fickou
14. Yoann Huget
15. Brice Dulin

*claps* +1
With the exception of Papé in for Maestri, that's the team I've got. I must say I'm impressed with such good taste and fine judgment throughout the XV from a foreigner. Much respect dude, classy picks.

 

[Big Ewis]

nooooo.....Thierry Dusautoir out for the Six Nations. I guess this is a chance for Antoine Burban to step up. With Lauret and Nyanga. Le Roux is there too, and Chouly can play backup flanker as well.

I'd like to see:
6 - Antoine Burban
7 - Wenceslas Lauret
8 - Louis Picamoles

20 - Yannick Nyanga

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

Antonie Burban? Looks like this is also a chance for me to flood all my Twitter followers with biscuit jokes.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Guitoune is out too.

 

[Big Ewis]

Guitoune is out too.

Personally more piissed about that. There aren't too many 3/4 backs like Guitoune in Europe, or the world actually. Thing is: I'd really like to see Benjamin Fall from Racing replace him. But they'll put Médard in his stead, surely...
Fall is one hell of a winger. Totally, totally underestimated. The only bright element on that Racing team, often. Guy creates try opportunities on his own.

 

[Big Ewis]

boy the list is quite heavy now: Dusautoir, Guitoune, Parra, Lauret, Ouedraogo, Fritz, Lopez...

Anyways: Bruni (RCT Toulon) and Buttin (ASM Clermont) called up as replacement for the first two.
I feel for both injuries, as French captain Dusautoir was on very good form and returning to top level and Guitoune would've followed a very good Autumn series with his first ever 6N, out the whole season, poor youngster...

Saint-André really going for the on-form guys of the current hour calling those two up. In deed, they've played some excellent ball. Bruni a 198cm flanker with good penetrability with ball in hand, and Buttin I believe the best FB in France atm...yet, I know he's on form but how is that going to work out ? We need a winger to be replaced...this was the perfect chance to call in Fall, but though he's on major form he hasn't actually scored a try in a while and plays on a shhitty team so no recognition...

 

[Big Ewis]

(not a triple post !...)

Holy shhit, PSA sent Plisson back amongst the 7 dropped players !!.....noooooo............
Here's the full list of the 7 dropped: Bruni, Vahaamahina, Buttin, Plisson, Mermoz, Palis, Bonneval.

They're fkn dumb to have dropped Vahaamahina imo. And I'd have loved to see Bonneval and Buttin play, especially Buttin but I guess we can't play him anywhere else but at 15 and Dulin's there.

List of our 23:
(forwards) Domingo, Forestier, Kayser, Szarzewski, Mas, Slimani, Flanquart, Maestri, Papé, Burban, Le Roux, Nyanga, Chouly, Picamoles ; (backs) Doussain, Machenaud, Tales, Bastareaud, Fickou, Fofana, Huget, Dulin, Médard.

I looks fine, but I'm a bit less excited all of a sudden looking at it...
At least we've got just the one poached player (Le Roux). And perhaps Debaty is a better choice than Forestier at second loosehead.

And just one FH then. Opens up space for an extra 3rd row player.

 

[Big Ewis]

(not a sextuple post !!)

Do or die moment. Trinh Duc called up for a worn out Talès. Fate ?? FTD over Talès, well that's less defense for sure, but that flair and creativity we've all enjoyed in his game.
And the excellent Jean-Marcelin Buttin out, Marc Andreu in.

There were so many wingers to pick from (if a winger were what we needed to pick...), Andreu seems like a fine choice but so many out there...

In other news:
Patrice Lagisquet (backs coach) and Yannick Bru (forwards coach) laud this new situation of really having time, for both "recuperation of the players and cohesion as a group". The group and staff have moved since Saturday to Marcoussis for the "true preparation" to start with the 23, and Bru has said before that they needed to "forge relationships as a group, as guys, which is just as important as anything on a team".
There "won't be any excuses on the field at this level", says Bru.

 

[French TommyGun]

I don't understand why Tales is injured??! Did he play in the top 14 this weekend or was it in training?? Coz I thought they were supposed to have 2 weeks away from their clubs for this exact reason!?

On the other hand I really would like to see FTD at 10 for France again, I've always liked him and don't really understand why they don't pick him anymore.

 

[Big Ewis]

Talès had a lingering bicep injury that first manifested after Castres' last match in the H Cup, got under control sort of, and is now back again after a training session.