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MARCOUSSIS - Hosts France will sacrifice flair in order to win by any means possible in Saturday's (NZ time) rugby World Cup opener against Argentina, veteran lock Fabien Pelous said today.
France have lost four of their last five matches against the Pumas and struggled to beat them 27-26 in their most recent encounter last November in Paris.
"If we beat them by the same margin this time, that'll suit me," Pelous told reporters at France's training camp outside the French capital.
"The quality of the game we will play is not what I'm worried about. Only the result counts."
France have named five forwards on the bench to help counter the formidable Argentina pack and Pelous expects a tough battle against some of the toughest scrummagers in the game.
"They are excellent at the art of making others play badly," Pelous said. "Nobody plays well against them.
"They put you under pressure and they're always standing in front of you. If we manage to get the balls out of the rucks, we'll be okay. If we don't, we'll be in trouble".
Pelous, 33, who will play in his third World Cup, has recovered from a career-threatening ankle injury that kept him sidelined for five months.
He has lost the captain's role to hooker Raphael Ibanez but not his place in the starting lineup.
"There were times when I feared I would never play rugby again," he said.
"The fact that I'm again able to play the game I love at the highest level, that's the most important thing to me."
Pelous said home advantage ddid not mean that twice World Cup finalists France should be regarded as favourites.
"The only favourites are New Zealand," he said.
"The rest are outsiders and that includes us, Australia, Argentina or even England. If any of those teams manage to beat the All Blacks, it will be a surprise."
- REUTERS
