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'It is easy to say it is a farce... I wouldn't be so nasty with the French team' - Castaignede
Thomas Castaignede has dismissed claims the Autumn Nations Cup final has become a farce and warned England not to underestimate the new-look French team that will run out at Twickenham on Sunday.
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France cannot pick up to 25 players under an agreement between the French Federation and the Top14 clubs and while that has seen the England match branded a farce, Castaignede believes it is the “stupidity” of the rugby calendar that should be the target of anger and frustration.
With Fiji having to forfeit three pool games due to 29 players testing positive for COVID-19 and the French selection determined by a three game maximum for the players, the tournament has lurched from one bad headline to another and Sunday’s final – in front of 2,000 fans who will be allowed into Twickenham – is being portrayed an unsatisfactory conclusion rather than a battle between Europe’s top two nations.
Castaignede, the 54 times capped French international, fundamentally disagrees and despite the absence of world class talent including scrum-half Antoine Dupont, captain Charles Ollivon and centre Virimi Vakatawa, he is backing the youthful 31-man squad assembled by head coach Fabien Galthe, to cause England serious problems by proving French rugby has real strength in depth.
France will not include any of the starting XV that beat Eddie Jones’ men 24-17 in their opening Six Nations match in February but Peato Mauvaka, Cameron Woki and Matthieu Jalibert, who were replacements for that win, are in contention for this weekend, along with Brice Dulin and Clermont’s powerful wing Alivereti Raka.
Castaignede told RugbyPass: “It is easy to say it is a farce, but we have some potential and I wouldn’t be so nasty with the French team.
“We have the Top 14 matches playing at the same time as the internationals and that is completely crazy. It is not the fault of the Federation or the clubs it is the stupidity of the calendar of international rugby and it needs to be solved. It is important to remember that we knew we would arrive at this situation and that is just the way it is. It is strange because the best French team will not be on the field.
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“England do well at the moment with a good kicking game, but in terms of attack they are not as threatening as they used to be one or two years ago and this game could be very close in what we can call the COVID Cup.
“It is good to see new players delivering at the highest level but to have England v France without the top players available is very strange and that kind of fixture should be played in the best possible circumstances.
“French rugby has more depth than a few years ago and opponents now have a bit more stress when they play against France and that is good. The young players are not that far away from the top level and I have been very surprised by some of them including Baptiste Pesenti, the second row from Pau and Matthieu Jalibert from Bordeaux Begles. These guys are maybe five per cent away and it important to get chances to play at the highest level.
So that's the final ruined. https://t.co/vZTu4bpuWc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 29, 2020
“I don’t see why those players even if they are not first choices could not create some trouble for England. It is never easy to beat Italy and in the first half the players found their feet and in the second they improved and I can see there is something special arriving in French rugby at the moment. There is more consistency and depth.”
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Castaignede is full of praise for the impact former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards has made in the same role with France, particularly in the Nations Cup where the team has shown constant change. “He is a genius,” he added. “I played against his Wasps team when I was at Saracens and he never smiled or said Hello. You know he has anger inside of him and that is what he did with me. He is there to work hard and does what he says.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Good riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
4 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
4 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
4 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to comments