France's nervous waiting game

Reuters | Friday, 28 September 2007

A victory with a bonus point against Georgia and an Irish win by more than seven points over Argentina would be France's dream scenario on Sunday.

The hosts would then snatch top spot in Pool D top spot from the Pumas and swap a quarter-final against New Zealand in Cardiff for a game against Scotland or Italy at the Stade de France.

To know their fate, they will however have to spend two nail-biting hours in the dressing room of the Stade Velodrome in Marseille between the final whistle of their game and the end of the Argentina v Ireland match, at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

"Ireland and Argentina are on the same level. Everything could happen," France coach Bernard Laporte said. "The best way to reach the quarter-finals is to beat Georgia scoring four tries.

To reach that goal, Laporte stuck to his squad rotation policy and made nine changes to the side that beat Ireland 25-3 and saved the host country, beaten by Argentina in the opening game of the tournament on Sept. 7, from an early exit.

"We only are in the middle of the woods and we have to conserve our strength," he said.

Among the players rested are captain Raphael Ibanez, prop Pieter de Villiers, who are 34 and 35 respectively, flyhalf Frederic Michalak and lock Sebastien Chabal.

In are flyhalf Lionel Beauxis, captain of the French side that won last year's under-21 World Cup, scrumhalf Pierre Mignoni and wing Christophe Dominici, both dropped after the opening game. Flanker Serge Betsen will captain the side.

Laporte also gave a start to Sale hooker Sebastien Bruno - the only player not to have been been named once since the beginning of the World Cup.

"We took into account the need to rest some players and to give playing time to others to keep them on their toes," team manager Jo Maso said.

"We'll field a well balanced team that can bring us the four tries we need to qualify but we'll have to be patient, rigorous and well organised because Georgia proved their worth against Ireland and Namibia," he added.

Georgia clinched their first World Cup victory when they defeated Nambia 30-0 on Wednesday. They had previously threatened the biggest upset in the 20-year history of the tournament before succumbing 14-10 to Ireland.

"Our goal was to win a match and the players gave it absolutely all they had," said coach Malkhaz Cheishvili after the Namibia game.

"They made Georgia proud and showed that Georgian rugby has a future. There's no question of letting go (against France). This will have freed us mentally and we will give our best."