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CARDIFF - Possession and territorial advantage rather than flair will be at the core of France's strategy in Saturday's (Sunday 8am NZtime) rugby World Cup quarterfinal against New Zealand.
Coach Bernard Laporte gave a strong signal that would be the case when he named Lionel Beauxis and Damien Traille, two big kickers, ahead of the more creative but sometimes erratic Frederic Michalak and the counter-attacking Clement Poitrenaud at first five-eighth and fullback.
Halfback and "captain of the backline" Jean-Baptiste Elissalde confirmed it on Thursday.
"To have a chance against New Zealand, we'll have to occupy their territory, to be strong in the set pieces, to offer them as few counter-attacking opportunities as possible and to keep the ball as much as possible in midfield," he said.
He said the selection of Beauxis, 21, at first five-eighth was not a gamble.
"It was the choice of the selectors. They opened a road, we'll have to follow it. Ninety-nine per cent of the team support that choice. It's a good sign," he said.
According to Elissalde, the match could follow two patterns.
"In the first one, we start the game as we did last November (France lost their the first test 47-3), we dropped the first up-and-under and after three passes they went through and opened the scoring," he said.
"When they are ahead they are not totally beyond reach but they are very difficult to catch.
"In the second scenario, we manage to put them under pressure as the Australians did in the last Tri Nations," he added.
"If after half an hour, 40 minutes of play or even better 10 minutes into the second half, the game is still close or if we are slightly ahead, they will be an absolutely different team because they are not robots.
"They will stop counter-attacking from their 22. They will have doubts, they will start kicking and will give us opportunities to go through."
- REUTERS
