France coach blames lack of killer instinct for loss to Italy
Source: AFP |
February 5, 2013, Tuesday
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FRANCE coach Philippe Saint-Andre has called on his players to rediscover the killer instinct he said was sadly missing in the shock 18-23 Six Nations loss to Italy in Rome on Sunday.
It was the second straight time that the French have gone down in Rome and the defeat has cast a giant cloud over Saint-Andre's squad just weeks after a successful November Test series.
Leading 15-13 at half-time after rebounding from an early Sergio Parisse try, the French were expected to crank up the pressure from the break and secure a comfortable enough victory.
Instead, they looked disorganized and lacking in ideas as the Italians moved ahead thanks to a try from veteran prop Martin Castrogiovanni and held on in the face of a desperate late offensive from the French.
Saint-Andre, in charge as coach for a second time in the Six Nations, said that he had kept his players up late into the night to go over video replays of the match to see where they had gone wrong. "We tried to save the match through individual play instead of staying in the collective mode," he said.
There was further setback for the French yesterday with news that skipper Pascal Pape will miss Saturday's match against Wales in Paris because of a back injury he picked up in Rome.
It was the second straight time that the French have gone down in Rome and the defeat has cast a giant cloud over Saint-Andre's squad just weeks after a successful November Test series.
Leading 15-13 at half-time after rebounding from an early Sergio Parisse try, the French were expected to crank up the pressure from the break and secure a comfortable enough victory.
Instead, they looked disorganized and lacking in ideas as the Italians moved ahead thanks to a try from veteran prop Martin Castrogiovanni and held on in the face of a desperate late offensive from the French.
Saint-Andre, in charge as coach for a second time in the Six Nations, said that he had kept his players up late into the night to go over video replays of the match to see where they had gone wrong. "We tried to save the match through individual play instead of staying in the collective mode," he said.
There was further setback for the French yesterday with news that skipper Pascal Pape will miss Saturday's match against Wales in Paris because of a back injury he picked up in Rome.
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