Beware the Gallic shrug

by Dan Retief 08/06/2005, 12:23

The French have a way of pouting their lips and shrugging their shoulders to express a thousand thoughts. They play their rugby that way too.

You may think you have them cornered, you may think they have capitulated when with an imaginary shrug of the shoulders, an illusory pout of the lips, they confound you.

Having missed, as a schoolboy in Kimberley in 1967, seeing the Tricolores in what was dubbed the “Battle of Bloemfontein” I formed an impression, based on lurid tales of the running battles told by my mates and one-eyed Afrikaans radio commentary, of the French being somewhat barbaric.

We were in no doubt that they were the dirtiest rugby players in the world and rejoiced in tales of how Frik du Preez “settled” their prime troublemaker Alain Plantefol in the final test at Newlands.

What we found harder to comprehend was how it was possible that the French, who had been beaten 26-3 and 16-3 in the first two tests, were able to come back and win the third (19-14) and draw the last (6-6) but our incredulity was tinged with respect for their skill and ingenuity; manifesting itself in most of us, at least those of us who could kick the ball, copying the instep soccer kicking style of their flyhalf Guy Camberabero.

No-one could run the ball quite like the French with their soft, touch passes and acute changes of direction. They were something to marvel at and even at that age I was taken by the romance of their approach and developed an affinity for the French, perhaps because of my Huguenot surname, that has always made them my favourite “other” side.

This was cemented when, while with the Rand Daily Mail, I reported on my first French tour. They were led by a true aristocrat of rugby in Jean-Pierre Rives to play what was termed the “Summer Test” at Loftus in November 1980. They lost, 15-37 to a Springbok side led by Morné du Plessis, but I was utterly taken by the intellectual approach to their rugby of journalists, coaches and players alike.

They really do believe that it is a cerebral, beautiful game that requires great artistry and yet in their history they have also harboured the crudest of ruffians – a contradiction that can only be explained with a virtual shrug of the shoulders and a pout of the lips. After all, the are French!

Enigmatic and erratic but always competitive, the French have enjoyed remarkable success in South Africa ever since, during their first visit to these shores in 1958, they rocked the Springboks by winning the two-test series.

That tour, after two previous tests between the two nations in 1913 and 1952 that were won 38-5 and 25-3 by the Boks, was considered a watershed in the history of French rugby; signaling, as it did, that their time to be counted among the top nations had arrived.

Led by Lucien Mias, in the absence of tour skipper Michel Celaya who had been injured, the underestimated French drew the first test at Newlands (3-3) and then produced an even bigger shock by downing the Springboks, led by Johan Claassen, 9-5 at altitude at Ellis Park.

In 1964 the Tricolores returned for a single international, in Springs, and it turned out that South African officialdom had not absorbed the lessons of the previous visit as what looked to be a pretty decent Springbok side led by Nelie Smith suffered an 8-6 defeat in a test described until his dying day by Dr Danie Craven as the worst yet to be seen in this country.

That the Springboks just could not fathom the gallant Gauls was shown by the fact that Avril Malan’s formidable 1960/61 touring side had been held to a 0-0 draw at Colombes Stadium in Paris.

In these years a bond of friendship and respect had been forged between Craven and FFR president Albert Ferrasse and this would ensure that as the dark clouds of isolation gathered the French would still tour – a four-test series in 1967, two tests in 1971 and 1975 before the curtain came down with that single international in 1980.

In this period the Springboks, fighting for survival in world rugby, had the upperhand but it would take another 13 years before the tri-coloured uniform of the French Cockerels would again be seen on the veldt.

And in the post-isolation years their record has been impressive. Their return in 1993 marked the start of Ian McIntosh’s time as Springbok coach and he named Francois Pienaar to make his debut as a player and as captain.

These French, captained by Olivier Roumat after tour captain Jean-Francois Tordo had suffered a horrific facial wound in the game against Western Province at Newlands, were typically capricious. They lost to SA ‘B’ and Northern Transvaal and drew with Free State but then drew the first test 20-20 in Durban and again upset the odds by taking the series with an 18-17 victory at Ellis Park.

Next came that epic Rugby World Cup semi-final in the rain in Durban, won 19-15 by the Boks thanks to James Small being able to stop Abdel Benazzi as he was hurtling for the line for what would have been the winning try, to be followed in 2001 by what appeared to be an under-strength side coached by Bernard Laporte and captained by Fabian Galthie.

The French went into the first test on the back of a run of five successive defeats against the Boks (four of them in France) and fielding a number of callow youngsters but this was at the height of Harry Viljoen’s muddled reign and Ellis Park once again proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Tricolores as they shocked a South African side led by André Vos 32-23; flyhalf Gerald Merceron contributing 27 points.

In the second test, in Durban, a Springbok side showing five changes produced a gritty, backs-to-the-wall performance to win 20-15 in a match that saw three yellow cards issued (against Mark Andrews, De Wet Barry and Olivier Magne) and also provided a citing against Butch James for a late and dangerous tackle on wing David Bory that resulted in the Bok flyhalf receiving a two-match suspension.

The French had blooded a number of players who would serve them well for the rest of the decade and into the new millennium and it seems that Bernard Laporte is again intent on leaving these shores having identified a new generation of French stars.

As always the French will provide a compelling examination of the state of Springbok rugby and John Smit and his men, having lost their last two encounters against the Tricolores (20-10 in Paris in 2001 and 30-10 in Marseilles in 2002) will have to be on their mettle to win their first home series against France since 1975.

France’s record in South Africa is as follows:

1958

Drew 3-3 in Cape Town
Won 9-5 in Johannesburg

1964

Won 8-6 in Springs

1967

Lost 26-3 in Durban
Lost 16-3 in Bloemfontein
Won 19-14 in Johannesburg
Drew 6-6 in Cape Town

1971

Lost 22-9 in Bloemfontein
Drew 8-8 in Durban

1975

Lost 38-25 in Bloemfontein
Lost 33-18 in Pretoria

1980