Lievremont: Depth key to French title hopes

France coach Marc Lievremont believes his country’s strength in depth could prove crucial in their bid to land the 2010 RBS 6 Nations crown.

Lievremont’s men hardened as title favourites following an impressive 33-10 demolition of last year’s grand-slam champions Ireland at Stade de France.

The Irish were forced into a re-shuffle following the early loss of full-back Rob Kearney but France, too, had their fair share of disruption.

Lievremont was forced to bring in new wingers after Aurelien Rougerie and Benjamin Fall were hurt in the opening win over Scotland and both their replacements, Vincent Clerc and Alexis Palisson, went off with injuries on Saturday.

However, Lievremont remains unconcerned and believes the crop of injuries will justify his controversial and much-criticised policy of rotation.

“We have a lot of injuries but one of the reasons we came up with a group of 30 to 40 players was to enable us to have quality players coming out of the bench,” he said.

“How many countries could maintain the same level with a high number of injuries?”

After constantly changing his half-backs, Lievremont looks sure to stick with Francois Trinh-Duc and Morgan Parra following their outstanding efforts against the Irish.

Parra kicked 15 points and tormented the visitors with his arcing runs but Lievremont was equally delighted with his pack, which created the position for William Servat, Yannick Jauzion and Clement Poitrenaud to score tries.

Skipper Thierry Dusautoir, who was horrified to discover that it was he who accidentally poked his fingers in the eye of team-mate Imanol Harinordoquy early in the game, admitted the forwards took their game to new heights against the Irish.

“The French scrum has been producing some great performances this past month or so,” he said.

“When we played against the All Blacks maybe we were even more powerful but we were not as smart. Tonight we tried to play both ways and that is what made it a great satisfaction.

“We gave away less fouls and were very patient, which was very satisfying, especially when we know how important that is at international level.

“It put a lot of pressure on the Irish team and we managed to maintain that momentum throughout the game.”

With Ireland out of the way, France must now turn their focus on Wales, their next opponents on Friday week, and Lievremont is looking for further improvement in a bid to reverse the 29-12 loss they suffered on their previous visit to the Millennium Stadium in 2008.

“The most difficult game is always the one coming up, especially since the French press always tell us how difficult it is to win three games in a row,” he said.

“It won’t be easy in Cardiff. The players know it’s going to be very difficult but I really hope be able to move forward.”