GERRY THORNLEYon the prospect of D'Arcy and O'Driscoll squaring up to Jauzion and young Mathieu Bastareaud
IT’S NOT only Ireland who have been invoking memories of Brian O’Driscoll’s famous hat-trick of tries in the 27-25 win in Stade de France a decade ago. The French, too, are acutely mindful of the threat posed by Ireland’s captain and record try-scorer, especially in tandem with his long-time midfield partner Gordon D’Arcy, and have been talking up the potentially critical midfield battle ahead of the showdown.
Opposing the Irish midfield pair will be the contrasting figures of 31-year-old Yannick Jauzion, winning his 65th cap and seventh against Ireland, and 21-year-old Mathieu Bastareaud of Stade Francais, at the start of what should be a prodigious career on his seventh Test outing and first against Ireland.
Emile Ntamack was the French fullback that day 10 years ago, and one of the game’s abiding memories is of him running past O’Driscoll as the latter completed his hat-trick.
“O’Driscoll? I made him 10 years ago,” quipped the French coach with a chuckle, “and maybe it’s time for the wheel to turn and for a new generation to do to you what they did to us 10 years ago.
“There is so much to say about D’Arcy and O’Driscoll. They can play all types of attack, they are instinctive players, they are very good distributors and you can feel a complicity between them. So Yannick and Mathieu know what to expect.”
Jauzion knows the Irish centres as well as any opponent, and, speaking from the state-of-the-art if icily cold and snowbound French base in Marcoussis outside Paris yesterday, the Toulouse centre said of O’Driscoll: “Before talking about his quality in attack I would like to stress his qualities in defence, where he is so aggressive and he’s got this ability to rip the ball from your hands.
“It’s funny, because they play less than they used to do, they’ve got a less expansive game,” he observed, “but when they are close to the line they run with a lot of speed, they give everything and they are very efficient at scoring.
“And of course D’Arcy is very good when one-on-one at creating space, and O’Driscoll is as aggressive in attack as he is in defence.
“But they are not the only weapons. Ireland have much more to offer. They have a very precise kicking game with O’Gara and Kearney, they are very good in the lineouts and they are really aggressive in the rucks. They basically play a very structured game and put you under pressure from the first minute.”
Bastareaud played in the youth squads of Paris suburban junior clubs Creteil and Massy, and is now in his third season with Stade after being recommended to the club by their former scrumhalf and French captain, Fabien Galthie. Having played for France in the 2007 World Under-19 Championship and the 2008 World Under-20 Championship, he broke into the French team in last season’s Six Nations when called up as a late replacement in the win over Wales.
He is now, of course, redeeming himself after his much-publicised, three-month suspension for feigning injury at the hands of a gang of New Zealand youths which caused a diplomatic incident during France’s tour there last summer. Ultimately, both prime ministers got involved.
Given he is William Gallas’ cousin, it would be cruelly apt if Bastareaud emerged as France’s match-winner tomorrow, bearing in mind the football World Cup play-off in the same ground last November. However, after opening his try account in Test rugby with the decisive brace in their win over Scotland last Sunday, the Stade Francais centre is both a potential weak link as well as a weapon.
Bastareaud appears to appreciate the scale of the task facing him.
“It’s the best combination in the world,” he acknowledged of the D’Arcy-O’Driscoll axis, “and it’s a pleasure for me to play against these guys. I’ve never played against O’Driscoll.
“I had the chance to meet him when I was playing with the French Under-19s in Dubai and O’Driscoll was there. I’ve seen plenty of O’Driscoll on YouTube and he is fantastic. I remember his three tries. Even if he was not my idol – that was Tana Umaga – I really like to watch him play.
“I know they will have watched our defence against Scotland and they will adapt to what we have shown in defence, so we will have to offer something else,” admitted Bastareaud, whose readiness for this Test perhaps not to have been helped by often having to play at inside centre for Stade Francais this season due to Brian Liebenburg being sidelined. Bastareaud much prefers playing at outside centre.
But he conceded, “I’m struggling a bit to adjust my defence because it’s much more difficult to defend as a second centre. You have got much more to analyse than at first centre, when you are in your cage.”
