France rue 'lack of killer instinct' after loss to Canada

A “lack of killer instinct” is how France co-coach David Ortiz is describing his side’s 29-20 loss to Canada at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.

After a stunning upset of world champions New Zealand in their opening match, France ended their WXV 1 campaign with two losses, but Ortiz and fellow coach Gaëlle Mignot can see the positives of their time in New Zealand.

“There are certainly some elements of frustration and disappointment with this final result,” said Mignot.

“This is not exactly what we wanted during this tournament, but we were able to draw some results, some conclusions to see how we can improve for the future, to make things work better for us. But yes, definitely some feelings of disappointment.”

Ortiz paid tribute to the tough Canadian effort. This was France’s fifth loss to Canada in their last five meetings despite leading 10-0 after as many minutes and dominating territory and possession for much of the first half.

“Yes, I think that we started off with a lot of efficiency,” he said.

“But we lost this efficiency after those initial 20 minutes, that happened because we are able to keep the ball at length, like we can keep it for a long time and we can keep the momentum coming. But after a while we lost this momentum and we got tired. And this is when the Canadians were able to pick up and take it from there.

"I think we need to have a more of a killer instinct sometimes, and these are critical moments. And we lacked a little bit of pragmatism, I think, and this is where the Canadians were able to pick up.”

One bright spot for the French was the performance of scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus, with the veteran dictating play with sharp passing and a number of incisive runs from the ruck.

“Pauline is a very strong player and she's a reflection of the team, actually,” said Mignot.

“She's an amazing person and very strong within the team and she brings a very strong rhythm overall. And I think that within the match she brings a lot of good qualities, but she's equal to all of the other players. There's this element of being equal, and I think that we also work collectively as a whole.”

Bourdon Sansus herself was reflective of the French WXV campaign in a positive way, noting that the team was in a rebuilding phase.

“We work collectively and we work towards a certain goal and we learn,” she said.

“And it's also been a long time since we didn't have matches against this type of nations. So, you know, we have lots to learn. And we will go back to France and we will work and we'll try to get better.”

Bourdon Sansus said that the result wouldn’t stop the French side celebrating their time together in New Zealand.

“It's not the result that we wanted. That is true. However, this is a very fun, enjoyable competition that we are having. And I think that, yes, we're going to go out, have some drinks, celebrate life, because these are life moments no matter what happens. And I think it's good to cheer all together, have some drinks and celebrate.”