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Fri 6 Jun 2014 | 02:45
The Top 5 French Flair moments of All Time

12
Comments

On the eve of the Wallabies vs France series kicking off, the guys at Fox Sports have put together this belter of a compilation featuring some of the best moments of French Flair from the last however many years. There are also a few random bits in there too.

It's the first time Australia have hosted Les Bleus in a three-Test series since way back in 1990 so while you never can quite tell what to expect, it's sure to be a thrilling series.

The big story of the week is James Horwill's demotion as captain of the Wallabies, with former teammate Stephen Moore stepping up to lead the team, while Horwill starts off the bench.

France are without their regular captain too, as Thierry Dusautoir has an injured bicep. 

As part of the build up we get to look at some of the most sensational French flair tries ever scored, all nicely put together by beret wearing, French speaking Sean Maloney.

Kick-off: 20:00 local, 10:00 GMT, 12:00 CEST

Australia: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13-Tevita Kuridrani, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Nick Cummins, 10-Bernard Foley, 9-Nic White, 8-Wycliff Palu, 7-Michael Hooper, 6-Scott Fardy, 5-Sam Carter, 4-Rob Simmons, 3-Sekope Kepu, 2-Stephen Moore (captain), 1-James Slipper Replacements: 16-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17-Pek Cowan, 18-Paddy Ryan, 19-James Horwill, 20-Ben McCalman, 21-Nick Phipps, 22-Kurtley Beale, 23-Pat McCabe

France: 15-Hugo Bonneval, 14-Yoann Huget, 13-Gael Fickou 12-Wesley Fofana, 11-Felix Le Bourhis, 10-Frederic Michalak, 9-Maxime Machenaud, 8-Bernard Le Roux, 7-Damien Chouly, 6-Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5-Yoann Maestri, 4-Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3-Nicolas Mas (captain), 2-Guilhem Guirado, 1-Thomas Domingo. Replacements: 16-Christopher Tolofua, 17-Vincent Debaty, 18-Rabah Slimani, 19-Alexandre Flanquart, 20-Antoine Burban, 21-Morgan Parra, 22-Remi Lamerat, 23-Brice Dulin

For those of you near Melbourne, during the week we'll be running a ticket giveaway for the second Test, so to be sure to follow RD on twitter and Facebook for the details.

Posted By: Grant Constable

12 Comments

  • drg
    11:31 AM 11/06/2014

    "The genie is out of the bottle. I don't see a way to get it back. "

    ..Have you not seen Aladdin? Use the three wishes already...

  • danknapp
    8:04 AM 08/06/2014

    Anyone who thinks that RL doesn't require "the ability to think fast, use one's instinct, and abilities to run, pass, and kick the ball" hasn't seen Benji Marshall play.

  • danknapp
    8:03 AM 08/06/2014

    ...and before the game went professional, allowing the players to spend hours more per week in the gym. And before we knew what we do now about conditioning, allowing further bulking up.

    The genie is out of the bottle. I don't see a way to get it back. And Rugby is still clearly defined from League, with the emphasis on set pieces, kicking, and work at the breakdown.

    Lastly, so what if it has some of the elements of League? League is awesome to watch. I prefer Union but I can happily sit down with a beer and chew on some League, especially something as brilliant as many NRL games are.

  • larry
    9:43 PM 07/06/2014

    I'd like to comment on the old highlights. Not one player was trying to run over another player. None of those old highlights had any resemblance to a rugby league match. It was all about using the ability to think fast, use one's instinct, and abilities to run, pass, and kick the ball. Just good old rugby union football before all the changes to the laws messed up the game.

  • kadova
    9:39 PM 07/06/2014

    That's right, Vladimir. Absolutely nobody amongst the French supporters or medias understands how PSA picks up his choices. He gives obscure reasons, sometimes blatant lies, he contradicts himself during the same interview, and everyone ends up scratching its head. Most French supporters hate him because of that. We would prefer he says the truth.
    IMHO, for the 0.02 cents that's worth, he's still not satisfied with the players he has, he's dreaming of a team that he has not in the real world, and he will try every player available until the last moment. I believe his biggest fear is to go to the WC with injured players like Lievremont (the previous head coach) did because of a lack of choice amongst players able to win the WC (being an international player is not enough). The price to pay is no gellling of the players, bad performances and bad results while most of the individuals are brillant. So PSA wants a pool of 45 players to choose from next year. He never said it, but he said this year (after 3 years in charge) that he wants 3 players per position ready for the WC.
    And guess what? Francois Trinh Duc, whom he refused to pick up for almost the last 3 years, is now in the international elite group that PSA selected for the season to come. What does this mean is a mystery. I only hope that FTD will be picked up for the WC as he improves greatly this year, both in his previous weaknesses, who said kicking game:o) and in his maturity.

    Sorry for the mammoth post ;)

  • drg
    6:17 PM 07/06/2014

    Unless of course he has some massive money riding on the opposition?

  • drg
    6:17 PM 07/06/2014

    Lol, I was thinking that exact same thing, and I am NOT French.. Really is there any reason PSA does anything that he does...

  • vladimir
    10:45 PM 06/06/2014

    "Is there any particular reason PSA's decided to" is the ultimate question every french is asking himself. Nobody knows, nobody understands what he is doing or intending to do. Such a waste.

  • facepalm
    10:32 PM 06/06/2014

    Is there any particular reason PSA's decided to start a bloke who can't even make the bench for his club in the most important position on the pitch in one of the most hostile fixtures in international rugby? And let's not get started on the fact he's dropped Dulin and Picamoles.

    International coaching credentials I may lack, but I find a good way of picking a team is usually to select the players the opposition don't want you to select. I'm not Australian, but if I were, I would be jumping for joy.

  • eddie-g
    8:03 PM 06/06/2014

    Rumour has it that Louis Picamoles applauded this team selection.

  • vladimir
    7:56 PM 06/06/2014

    Officially, Bastareaud has a broken nose and Picamoles is not fit enough just coming back from injury. Now the thruth may be, Bastareaud found some pretext to not have to travel immediately after winning top14 and to have some time to celebrate, which PSA/Lagisquet are not the type of men to understand and agree with, and Picamoles may still not get along with them enough to 'earn' the right to play.

  • demosys
    5:34 PM 06/06/2014

    Best French accent ever!
    Didn't understand half of the words he says :D.

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