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CARDIFF - French players got the blues when they left the comfort of their Marcoussis training camp and the Marseille sunshine to rebase in Cardiff, venue for their quarter-final against New Zealand.
"We try to adapt but it was a shock when we flew over from Marseille, where we relaxed by 25 degrees on a terrace with a sea view after our last pool game, to the mist of Cardiff," captain Raphael Ibanez told a news conference on today.
The official line in the French camp is that Les Bleus have only themselves and their defeat to Argentina in the opening game to blame for losing top spot in Pool D and being forced to face New Zealand in Cardiff instead of playing Scotland in Paris.
In the cramped and overheated conference room of a Cardiff hotel, Ibanez said "all the French players would have liked to escape such a situation".
"A bill like France v New Zealand deserved to be played in France with the support of our home crowd," he said.
"The most disturbing point for the players is that they know they will lack the atmosphere and the support of the spectators they have enjoyed since the beginning of the tournament."
- REUTERS
