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No off-field distractions for France, insists Brunel

By Peter Hanson
France coach Jacques Brunel and Guilhem Guirado

Jacques Brunel is adamant there will be no off-field distractions for his France side at the Six Nations.

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On Tuesday, the French Rugby Federation confirmed its headquarters had been searched by police, although further details were not forthcoming.

Brunel will take charge of Les Bleus for the first time when France welcome Ireland to Paris on February 3 and the new head coach insists the focus is purely on rugby.

“All the problems surrounding all those issues have had no influence on us whatsoever,” said Brunel.

“We don’t know what’s happening, we have been kept separate from all of that, and so we haven’t been influenced by that at all.”

France last won the Six Nations in 2010, and former coach Guy Noves was sacked after a poor return that yielded just seven wins from the 21 Tests he oversaw.

But Brunel is adamant his side can compete for the title.

“We want to be contenders throughout the tournament. We’re fully focused on the first match, but we’ll try to be contenders,” he said.

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“The first thing we have to do is create a common ambition, a common story where we feel at ease.”

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Ed the Duck 6 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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