Rugby: NZA triumph but we can't write French off

By Chris Rattue

It is the old dilemma presented by French rugby: the more you see the less you know or understand.

On the face of it, New Zealand A's 45-24 win in front of a crowd of 12,000 at Rugby Park in Hamilton yesterday represented a good old hiding for a highly-respected rugby foe.

Yet the try tally was just five to four, and during the second quarter the French looked very capable of winning.

They made a host of possibly disruptive changes at halftime, and nothing is quite what it seems in World Cup year when coaches regard every match as a means to an end they hope will involve drinking champagne out of the William Webb Ellis trophy.

This game had the perfect start, a "Frenchman" scoring a try which looked as if it would set New Zealand A on the road to a massive victory.

The "Frenchman" was Bruce Reihana, the Waikato and Chiefs fullback who, before he stepped on to Rugby Park yesterday, held the option of playing for New Zealand or France.

Reihana, whose mother was born in France before an overseas sojourn led her to settle on the other side of the world, had contemplated playing in Europe and giving himself the chance of playing for his country of heritage if the door appeared to close on his All Black hopes.

Selection in New Zealand's second team in an international match meant it was au revoir to those exotic notions, and the New Zealand A backline welcomed him home with a brilliantly-worked try in the first minute.

Carlos Spencer ran the blindside on his own 22m line, Caleb Ralph cut through a hesitant defence and fed Reihana, who twisted and danced his way for 40m to score by the posts.

With the All Black massacre of Manu Samoa fresh in the mind, and reports coming through that ltaly had not bothered the scorers while South Africa posted a century, it looked as though another international drubbing was on the cards.

When Troy Flavell scored eight minutes later from a tap penalty, with Spencer adding his second conversion, the killing looked on.

The French, who are without about six injured test players and who played a mixed test/second-string side against New Zealand A, turned the match round in the second quarter.

Their first try came from a lineout drive, their second from a superlative backline move finished in the right corner by wing Philippe Bernat-Salles.

Hooker Marc Dal Maso's 36th-minute try gave them a narrow lead before Spencer's 40th-minute penalty restored New Zealand A to the lead, 20-19.

Still, it was game on.

But while New Zealand A coach Ross Cooper made just the one change, bringing on Jonah Lomu for Joeli Vidiri, who was far too keen on the chip-kick for someone with his combination of power and pace, French coach Jean-Claude Skrela went to his bench and sent out tour captain and hooker Raphael Ibanez and three other forward replacements, including long-time test prop Christian Califano.

If Skrela was trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat, he ended up with a well-stewed bunny.

Reihana scored from another Caleb cut, Lomu charged 52m up the sideline after Emile Ntamack appeared overly keen on buying the massive wing's slight dummy, and Flavell scored his second after New Zealand A produced some great skills, including a Spencer reverse pass which took out the last semblance of defence.

By the 65th minute, at 45-19, it was game over, although the French scored a late try.

It had turned into a fine effort from New Zealand A, whose preparations and selections have been at the beck and call of the All Black requirements.

Lomu, Spencer and tireless flanker Scott Robertson all took the field yesterday, even though their participation was in doubt through the week because of All Black call-ups.

"It hasn't been an easy week but the players showed tremendous motivation and commitment. It shows we've got real depth for the World Cup campaign," said Cooper.

"At halftime we sat down quietly and talked about kicking for the corners, getting field position, and getting the rumble on.

"[France's] fitness looked a bit suspect. I'm sure that's not their top side and they made a lot of changes at halftime, which may have been disruptive. I'm sure they'll go up a few cogs for the test match."

Captain Todd Blackadder added: "We showed a lot of enthusiasm [in the first half] but there were a few things which needed tidying up."

Skrela was happy with his side's dedication to the job but said: "I was very disappointed with the turnovers. New Zealand A scored a lot of their points from them.

"The score was not a reflection of the game because they scored three or four easy tries. If France played more games at this level it would fix all the problems."

France escaped without more injuries and Skrela will name his side on Wednesday for Saturday's test in Wellington, where the tourists will be given little chance.

The All Blacks, however, do not have to dig far into history to know that the French are very capable of winning when given little hope, and can also triumph in tests where they are outplayed for long periods.

There were no citings from the match despite some marginal rucking incidents, one of which led to a penalty against French prop Frank Tournaire after a touch judge's report to referee Paul Honiss.

Cooper said: "We've got no complaints at all. It was good to see some rucking, not stomping, coming back into the game."

New Zealand A 45 (Bruce Reihana 2, Troy Flavell 2, Jonah Lomu tries; Carlos Spencer 4 con, 4 pen), France 24 (Fabien Pelous, Philippe Bernat-Salles, Marc Dal Maso, Christophe Dominici tries; Christophe Lamaison 2 con). Halftime: 20-19.