Dusautoir dismisses rumours of rebellion in France camp

When pressed further on the rumours Dusautoir maintained, “We are a team”.

French website L’Obs Sport reported on Friday that players have ostracised head coach Philippe Saint-Andre since the team finished second in Pool D with last weekend’s 24-9 loss to Ireland.

Saint-Andre will step aside after the World Cup and, after a poor four-year reign and much discontent, he finds himself in a seemingly similar position to Marc Lievremont, the controversial French coach at the 2011 tournament.

They succeeded in turning around that shocking result against Tongan to advance to the final where they eventually lost 8-7 to the All Blacks.

“We’re expecting a French team very fired up to be at Cardiff”.

“We are confident in (Le Roux’s) ability to fight a lot and run against New Zealand, because we were under pressure against Ireland at the breakdown”, France forwards coach Yannick Bru said.

“What’s really important now is what we’re going to do tomorrow”, he said.

Reports emerged of “bedlam” in the squad ahead of their crunch encounter with World Cup favourites New Zealand. But the legendary flanker batted away repeated probes in French and English during a 20-minute press conference at the Celtic Manor, the team’s base in Newport.

With 553 caps, the starting XV is the most-experienced side selected by Saint-Andre at the World Cup, although it is the least experienced France outfit to appear in a knockout match since the semifinal of the 2003 tournament. “It’s a team ready to play New Zealand”.

“Can you explain to me what French flair is?” he said.

“If there’s not an uprising for this match, you must change sport”, said Saint-Andre. “So we’ve got to go back to reality, real life, and then I will have time to think about all of this”.

Keep the ball and play rugby!

“We are thinking of moving onto the next stage, but you know when you are playing New Zealand you are against one of the best teams in the world”.

The Millennium Stadium quarter-final will mark the last time that two back-row greats of the game, Dusautoir and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, will lock horns after so many tremendous battles over the years.

“It is always special to play against him”.

Dusautoir can become the third France player to score a record three tries against the All Blacks, joining Saint-Andre and France legend Serge Blanco. “We have a special history together and we are going to write a new chapter”. Halfback Sebastien Tillous-Borde was axed and lumbering centre Mathieu Bastareaud dropped in favour of Morgan Para and Alexandre Dumoulin, a clear sign they intend to speed up their attack.