Laporte rallies his troops before Ireland visit

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte rallied his troops on the eve of their Six Nations clash with Ireland at the Stade de France and told them to show far more spirit than they had done in last Sunday’s 20-16 defeat by Scotland.

The 40-year-old Frenchman also tried to put the Scotland reverse behind him saying that he had never expected to go unbeaten in the lead-up to the 2007 World Cup, which is being hosted by France.

“We had to take stock of things and we did that by changing the team,” said Laporte.