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France captain: We have taken five steps back

By Online Editors
France captain Guilhem Guirado. Photo / Getty Images

France captain Guilhem Guirado has expressed his frustation following his side's losing effort against Fiji over the weekend.

Guirado said he was "angry because we did not respect the jersey" in their first ever defeat to Fiji.

Two tries from the skipper enough as Fiji secured with a historic 21-14 victory in Paris.

The veteran hooker did not hold back in an interview with on French outlet RugbyRama.

 "I'm angry because we did not respect the jersey that we had on the shoulders," he said.

"We all waited for the buddy next door to do the job, so I'm very upset tonight."

He added that "when you not display aggression" it can be tough to win matches.

"We were catastrophic in all sectors, we will have to look at ourselves...

"I'm not desperate, but the situation bothers me. We have just taken five steps back.

"This lack of consistency and regularity annoys me because this is the mark of the big teams and tonight we have shown the opposite."

Guirado didn't pin the result on anyone in particular and said everyone involved was responsible.

The French finished fourth in the 2018 Six Nations with a record of two wins and three losses, their first campaign under head coach Jacques Brunel.

They suffered a last-gasp loss 29-26 against South Africa earlier in the month, but toppled Argentina 28-13 the weekend before their defeat against Fiji.

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