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France hooker Julien Marchand faces race to make knockout stages
By Josh Raisey
France hooker Julien Marchand is unlikely to play any part in the remainder of France’s World Cup pool stages after picking up a hamstring injury against the All Blacks on Friday.
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The Toulouse No2 began the match with heavy strapping on his left thigh, and could not even make it to half-time at the Stade de France in the World Cup opener before going off with what has been confirmed by coach Laurent Labit as a hamstring injury. Midi Olympique have now reported that the 28-year-old faces four to five weeks out ahead of further tests next week, which would likely rule him out of matches against Uruguay, Namibia and Italy.
Now that France have overcome the biggest hurdle in their group, beating the All Blacks 27-13, Labit said today that Marchand was not even in the coaching team’s plans to feature against Uruguay on Thursday. He said: (Translated on Google) “We are not going to act in haste. In any case, “Juju” (Marchand) was not scheduled for the match against Uruguay. His injury doesn’t change anything in our plans at the moment.”
Marchand joins a growing injury list for Les Bleus, as his fellow Toulouse teammates Romain Ntamack and Cyril Baille are also absent. While Ntamack is out for the entirety of the tournament, Baille, like Marchand, could make a comeback in the latter stages of the tournament, which could be a major boost for Fabien Galthie and his side.
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The Wallabies will never be successful while the Tahs insist their second rate players like Porecki and Donaldson are selected and Eddie goes along with it to please them. Neither Porecki nor Donaldson are in the top three players in their position in Australia but there they are captaining Australia and controlling the game. How the hell does your captain get penalised for being too lazy to roll away from a ruck 2 minutes in to a must win World Cup game. The sense of self entitlement to put yourself in that position, as captain, is breathtaking and disgraceful. The Wallabies never stood a chance, which must really really irk the other players ......
Go to commentsThe crisis that has occurred for New Zealand rugby over the last cycle mostly stem from their losses to Ireland and now they are likely to face them in the Quarter Finals. It could be a fitting end, with them exiting the World Cup early like Australia, and some will then wish to write their obituaries for the coach and team at that point. For me, I actually see it as a positive - there is an element of certainty now in what the All Blacks must do - beat Italy and Uruguay (convincingly and with some demonstrable form) then overcome the World Number 1 team. Ignoring the potential semi and final for the moment, if the All Blacks want to conquer some demons, they have the perfect pathway. Can they beat Ireland? Yes, they can - but they need their best team on the paddock throughout - well selected and without injuries or being sent off. Discipline is key. They did actually beat Ireland once last year (which everybody has now forgotten!) and were, in fact, the last team to do so. Ireland have to break some major records of their own to win this World Cup - which creates pressure of its own too.
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