French manager launches strong defence of under-fire pack

FRANCE team manager Jo Maso has put up a stout defence of his much criticised pack ahead of the return match against England this weekend.

Les Bleus came away from Twickenham on Saturday with a hard-fought 21-15 victory, despite being dominated for large parts in the scrum and the line-out.

The squad for the home leg of the double-header against England, which is being played in Marseille on Saturday night, was announced yesterday and showed six changes — four coming in the forwards.

Maso admitted his pack were put under pressure by the English last weekend, but is not overly concerned ahead of the rematch.

He said: “The scrum has not been so bad when you look at it closely.

“We lost one ball against the head because of the English hooker, and another because of the foot of (number eight Julien) Bonnaire.

“We were never knocked over by a genuine shove. We have been deficient technically, but not physically, and we are going to improve.

“We won the match with a deficient scrum and an average line-out.

“It’s not all that bad — it is better to look at it with the perspective of the glass being half full, not half empty. You have to be positive. These are preparation matches, let’s not forget. They serve to iron out problems.”

France were always going to rotate their squad for this match, with selectors wanting to look at every player in the party ahead of the World Cup opener against Argentina on September 7.

Forwards Sebastien Bruno, Lionel Nallet, Thierry Dusautoir and Imanol Harinordoquy, who were all absent last weekend at Twickenham, return to the fold, with Dimitri Szarzewski, Sebastien Chabal, Serge Betsen and Remy Martin dropping out.

In the backs, Christophe Dominici replaces Vincent Clerc on the wing while centre David Marty is rested, allowing the fit-again Yannick Jauzion and Damien Traille to form a partnership in midfield.

Prop Sylvain Marconnet is again absent from the squad as he continues his recovery from long-term injury.

The Stade Francais star, who broke his leg during the RBS 6 Nations Championship, is still not fit and he will discover on Thursday if he is to be retained for the World Cup.

If Marconnet does not make it, Nicolas Mas — who will be among the 22 on duty in Marseille — will be drafted into the World Cup squad.