Thierry Duautoire says the presence of his former teammates in France's coaching team is important for current players. Photo: Getty Images/Anthony Bibar < p>History still teaches us that the Rugby World Cup can be held in one of two ways.
Expectations surrounding the hosts are generally positive: New Zealand win in 1987, England finalists in 1991, South African winners in 1995, France runners-up in 1999, Australia finalists in 2003, All Blacks' second title in 2011, and Japan's Miracle Against All Odds in 2019. However, sometimes there is a bad apple; England's humiliation in 2015 remains the only time in World Cup history that a host nation failed to progress from the group stage.
However, in terms of disappointments, France took the silver medal in the 2007 season — despite ultimately reaching the semi-finals. Les Blais lost their first match to underdogs Argentina — their eventual tormentors in the tournament's bronze final — before being defeated by an England team that hit as poorly as it punched above its weight. There was, of course, France's heroic quarter-final victory over New Zealand, a match in which Thierry Duautoire, the former French flanker, played a starring role.
On Sunday night, when France meets reigning world champions South Africa in the quarter-finals, the 2007 silver medal could easily turn into bronze. Among the favorites to finish the tournament as world champions, the French side are a supremely talented side, but reaching the last eight under pressure from the hosts would put them second behind England 2015 for the most reception failures guests.
Until now, including in the first match against the All Blacks, the French have not been embarrassed by these expectations. However, knockout sport is a completely different kettle of poisson, and the composure France have shown so far will not necessarily be replicated on Sunday at the Stade de France.
But Dusautoir, who won 80 caps for France in nine years, believes the lessons of 2007 have been learned and that psychologically this French team is the fittest and toughest ever. historically would not have been uttered in the same sphere as Les Bleus.
“What happened to us in 2007 will not happen again,” the 41-year-old told Telegraph Sport. “We only participated in the tournament together, domestically, in 2007. We didn't have much contact with the outside world. This year, with William Servat, Fabien Galthier and Rafael Ibáñez on the coaching team, they understood what happened in 2007 and at other World Cups and learned their lessons.
“William is a very good friend of mine. and he told me, “Dude, this is completely different. This is not like the World Cup we experienced. We are open to the world and have good connections with people.” They don't have such a burden on their shoulders.
“We're talking about Fabien, William and the other coaches. They all had a lot of international experience as players, so they were used to being around players; manage pressure, commands.
“The psychological moment is important. Physically everyone is ready to play at the World Cup, but their heads are different. They used their experience as players to help the current field prepare for this moment.
“We didn't have any mental preparation in 2007 either. Now they have an employee to talk to. We didn't have that. The trade union has also improved in this regard.”
'We didn't handle the pressure well'
Despite eventual disappointment at a collective level, Duautoir's individual heroics in the 2007 tournament have gone down in rugby folklore. In the quarter-final win over New Zealand, the flanker made a staggering 38 tackles — a record at the time. However, Duautoir admits that France was confused by the bright lights of the Stade de France and the waiting crowd.
“We started badly in 2007, losing to Argentina,” says Duautoir. “When we walked out to the Stade de France, into the light of the first game, it was like, 'Wow, we're playing in a home World Cup.' And all the pressure fell on us. We didn't succeed and lost the first game.
“After losing that game, we knew we would play in the quarter-finals against New Zealand, so we already knew the road to winning this tournament would be difficult. But, in a way, the pressure has almost been lifted off our shoulders.
“It hasn't affected this French team as much because they are more confident. They have built their confidence over the past four years by defeating every team from every corner of the world and winning the Grand Slam in 2022. And that win by 50 points at Twickenham earlier this year. Incredible.
“This team has a lot of confidence. This helps them cope with this pressure. They are ready. Okay, the first game was important for the country and the image of the French campaign, but a few months ago we all knew that this quarter-final would be against Ireland or South Africa. They're ready.”
We'll know for sure on Sunday night.
Thierry Duautoir was speaking at the launch of the documentary «Rivals Les Bleus» featuring the French flanker and Richie McCaw. , available for free to everyone on New Zealand Rugby
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