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'Bring it' - Ibanez welcomes England's brutal physicality
By Online Editors
Raphael Ibanez declared “bring it on” in anticipation of the forward onslaught expected from England in Paris on Sunday.
France’s manager and former captain is aware that Les Bleus begin their Guinness Six Nations campaign against a team determined to make amends after their pack was dismantled by South Africa in last autumn’s World Cup final.
It is the first outing for the new coaching team, led by head coach, Fabien Galthie and Ibanez knows up front is the key battleground.
“The England pack will try to redeem themselves after the experience of the World Cup final in that area,” Ibanez said.
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“We are very aware of their quality in the forwards. They have a great, big, strong tight five and hopefully we’ll be able to match that.
“There’s no doubt it’s an area where there will be a fierce battle. But that’s what Test match rugby is all about. Good. Bring it on.”
France are dismayed by Eddie Jones’ call for England to play with “brutal physicality” as the word brutal has connotations of violence when translated.
But Ibanez believes it is easy for coaches to make bold declarations of intent.
“It’s easy to talk when you are sitting in stands and that’s exactly what we’ll be experiencing – Fabien, myself and the English head coach,” Ibanez said.
“It’s always down to the players to express themselves, so let the players do the talking.”
Wing Damian Penaud is a doubt because of a calf problem sustained at the start of the captain’s run held at the Stade de France on Saturday.
“He is undergoing tests and we will see what the results are from those. We hope they won’t be too significant,” Ibanez said.
Press Association
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Latest Comments
The England backs can't be that dumb, he has been playing on and off for the last couple of years. If they are too slow to keep up with him that's another matter.
He was the only thing stopping England from getting their arses handed to them in the Aussie game. If you can't fit a player with that skill set into an England team then they are stuffed.
Go to commentsSteve Borthwick appointment was misguided based on two flawed premises.
1. An overblown sense of the quality of the premiership rugby. The gap between the Premiership and Test rugby is enormous
2. England needed an English coach who understood English Rugby and it's traditional strengths.
SB won the premiership and was an England forward and did a great job with the Japanese forwards but neither of those qualify you as a tier 1 test manager.
Maybe Felix Jones and Aled Walter's departures are down to the fact that SB is a details man, which work at club level but at test level you need the manager to manage and let the coaches get on and do what they are employed for.
SB criticism of players is straight out of Eddie Jones playbook but his loyalty to keeping out of form players borne out of his perceived sense of betrayal as a player.
In all it doesn't stack up as the qualities needed to be a modern Test coach /Manager
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