Tana Umaga: France have returned to their 'identity of old'

All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga hasn’t leaned on his experience playing in France much when preparing his team for this weekend’s Nations Championship opener.

The former Toulon back says the game in France has “evolved” significantly since his time there as a player and player-coach, crediting Les Bleus head coach Fabien Galthié for his role in the evolution that has seen the team return to global heavyweight status.

In what was a historically high-scoring Six Nations tournament earlier this year, France led the way, scoring north of 42 points per game, earning a bonus point for tries scored in each of their five contests, four of which were wins.

Having watched not only France’s attack flourish, but also Bordeaux’s in a dominant Champions Cup campaign, Umaga says Galthié’s men will be difficult to contain in Christchurch.

“They’re an exciting team to watch. They’ve kind of found their French flair again, haven’t they? They want to play from all parts of the field,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“They’re always looking to attack when there’s opportunities, and with the quality of the players that they’ve got — obviously, Bordeaux didn’t get through to the Top 14 final, yet they’re the champions of the European Cup.

“So they’ve got some experienced guys that have been around for a bit, and I’m sure they’re going to be relying on those combinations. And we saw how they won that final, too; they don’t have a lot of rucks, but when they do, they try to score points as soon as they can. That’s something that we’ve got to be aware of, focused on, and make sure that we’ve got answers for.”

Reflecting on his brief time at Toulon, Umaga saw little similarity between the play style of then and today.

“Throughout my period in France, it was very combative. A lot of kicking. We went through a period there where I think they realised their rugby had changed to become very physical, and around the scrum. Now you can see Fabien Galthié has probably had a great influence on how they’re developing their young players through those systems; it’s all about looking up and seeing those opportunities, let’s keep the ball alive until we can create space for each other.

“I suppose they’ve gone back to their identity of old. That’s what we used to see quite a lot of. And now, they’re more consistent around what they do. That’s exciting for the game of rugby and that’s probably why it’s going so well in their country. It’s a good challenge for us first up.”

The former All Black captain has had to move on quickly from his time leading Moana Pasifika, joining a New Zealand camp in an unprecedented position, changing coaching staff mid-World Cup cycle ahead of what Sir Graham Henry describes as the biggest campaign the team has ever been through.

Umaga, who has led the defence portfolio of the New Zealand U20, the Blues and Samoa, says defending France in the first Test of the new regime will be a big challenge.

“With the short time frame, especially from a defence perspective, we’ve really got to focus on ourselves and what we can do. How do we get on the same page and get connected on what we want to do? And have real belief in that, and the right attitude to not just contain them, but pressure them.

“They’re going to play a lot, so we need to pressure those skillsets as much as we can, and not just sit back and wait for them to do everything, because you’re then obviously letting them dictate terms.”

You can catch the full Aotearoa Rugby Pod interview with Tana Umaga on RugbyPass TV.