France’s full-back Scott Spedding leaves the pitch at the end of the quarter-final match against New Zealand in Cardiff. (AFP)

AFP/London

France’s rugby team left the World Cup yesterday in national disgrace after their crushing 62-13 defeat by New Zealand.
L’Equipe sports daily emblazoned “The Disaster” over its front page of the All Blacks celebrating while Les Bleus were slumped to ground in disbelief. There were widespread calls for a review of France’s rugby system.  
“The feeling I have is we are progressing at 10 kilometres an hour and the others at 20 kilometres an hour,” said coach Philippe Saint-Andre, after his last match in charge, comparing the French with their rivals.
That, though, will be easier said than done with the Top 14 clubs holding the purse strings and therefore the power.
The French league budget surpassed that of the French federation last year 136.5 million euros ($155 million) to 105m euros ($120 million) thanks to the TV rights for the world’s richest domestic league. These riches have attracted rugby superstars like Matt Giteau, Johnny Sexton and Dan Carter. But that means excluding young French talent from the starting line-ups.
“There are several categories separating us, and it is a gap that is growing more and more as the years go by,” said an angry France fly-half Frederic Michalak, who has had two spells in South Africa. “There are small national teams who are getting better. France will find itself further and further off the pace if it continues like this. “I think that the system needs reviewing.

No excuses
“It does not excuse our performance (against the All Blacks) in conceding more than 60 points, that we have to take responsibility for. “But it seems every country apart from us is doing something to improve.”
Saint-Andre, whose teams never managed to finish higher than fourth in the northern hemisphere championship the Six Nations, is no fan of the system either. Yet as coach of Toulon he was not afraid to lure top rugby talent to the club.
The French federation cannot organise central contracts for their best players like the Irish, the English and the Welsh do. The contracts give them control over how much rugby top players have to carry out. Saint-Andre, who was jeered in the Millennium Stadium by French fans after the defeat, condemned the restrictions he has faced getting players released by their clubs.  
“I don’t want to speak about that. I lost too much energy in the first two years of my job speaking about it,” said the 48-year-old, who has preferred a battering ram approach than the flair he displayed as a dashing wing and captain of France.
“The technical aspect, speed, power, explosiveness are all things that are primordial in modern rugby.
“But it’s not with a preparation period of three months every four years that we can reach a world level. “We had hoped that these three months of preparation could shake us up into another dimension.
“The New Zealanders were much more reactive. We’ve seen that we have good rugby players, but the Kiwis have better reactions, speed and a technique in defence of the highest quality.
“There is a massive amount of work to do with the federation’s technical team over the next five or six years to find the same basics for our players.”
However, Saint-Andre believes his successor Guy Noves will inherit promising younger players, although not all commentators are convinced.  
“It was the last match for some players who have given loads to French rugby,” said Saint-Andre.
“There’s a young generation who have learnt a lot and there will be victories for the France XV.”
One of the older brigade lock Pascal Pape said it was time for the players to stand up and be heard and not simply be pawns in the hands of the clubs and the national team.
“It is imperative that we (the players) open our mouths as well, because it is us out there on the pitch,” said the 35-year-old, who has captained France several times.
“If we are really genuine about the younger generation getting results further down the line, then we have to take into account what they are saying.
“If we continue to have these wars, I believe that we will never again have another magician in the French team.”