Laporte spouts GAA-type clichés in hailing performance of Les Bleus

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte wasn’t immune to a little bit of GAA- speak after watching his side’s heart-stopping 20-17 victory over Ireland at Croke Park.

Laporte, who has the appearance of a man more at ease in a dusty library than on the sidelines of the Six Nations Championship, found himself spouting the clichés of team spirit so beloved by the hundreds of hurling and football bosses who are the more regular inhabitants of these corridors.

Ireland seemed set for victory when Ronan O’Gara’s fourth penalty, in the 77th minute, stretched the host’s lead to four points, but France re-gathered at the restart and sent Vincent Clerc through for an easy touch down.

Lionel Beauxis converted and kicked a serious dent in Eddie O’Sullivan’s Grand Slam dream.

“The thing I want to remember from this game was the spirit,” said a smiling Laporte.

“The symbol of that spirit was the drop goal. It missed but we still came back and scored the try. I feel great joy and pride over the performance of our players.”

However, the coach admitted that there were some causes for concern that will keep the video analysts busy over the coming week.

“We were weak in some moments of the game, but nothing got past us. We could have led by more at half-time and went off the boil a bit in the second half, but no one gave up.

“With good aggression and solid defence we managed to stay in the game.

“We missed two penalties and two try-scoring opportunities and then had a drop goal off the crossbar that could have put us in front.

“We made some mistakes but most of them were through a lack of concentration.

“That’s not serious and can be addressed in training.

“What we did show was belief — right until the end we felt we could win the game.”

And yes, the historic nature of the day was something which weighed heavily on the management team.

“It’s very encouraging, especially in a difficult context given that they haven’t beaten us since 2003 and it was the first match in this stadium,” added the satisfied French coach.

For his part, FFR President Bernard Lapasset had also praised the new Six Nations venue.

“It is a big honour for us to be the first country to play Ireland in this stadium. We know the historical nature of this place, not just for sport, but the story of Ireland.

“A lot of French people are coming to Dublin especially for this special match. It is a critical moment for the relationship between Ireland and France.”