France coach Philippe Saint-André blamed silly mistakes and his side's high penalty count for their loss against England at Twickenham.
The visitors had the better of the first half, but struggled at the breakdown as the match wore on and only added three points to their total in the second half, whilst England scored 14.
"It was much better than the last two games, but again we have lost and we can't accept this. We made too many silly mistakes, we were penalised a lot and I don't know why so I need to watch the video," said Saint-André.
"I need to congratule England. They were very pragmatic - it was a tough game and very physical and in the end they have won three games and we have lost three games.
"The last 20 minutes we missed too many chances - we had scrums and lineouts in their 22 and we made mistakes.
"It's a shame, but we have a lot of young guys who were playing at Twickenham for the first time and it's important for us to build the squad for the next Rugby World Cup.
"We expected a little bit more from our bench. So many times we tried impossible offloads and lost the ball in the contact area and England didn't do amazing things, but they were accurate and we were not accurate enough.
"In the ruck area we were quite strong, but we were penalised a lot. We had an opportunity at 10-9 for more points when England were not as confident, but we didn't take it. We have to learn from this and carry on.
"We are very sad, but we know this team have a lot of potential and each game we will get better. Losing is terrible, but the team must keep this memory and work to improve. The small details at the moment are not on our side.
Saint-André did reserve praise for centre Wesley Fofana, who scored a spectacular try in the first-half down the left wing and evading four English tackles on his way to the line.
"It was a fantastic try by Fofana. We know he can play in the centre but he did well on the wing last November for us. In the Top 14, 70% of our wingers are foreign and like with our fly-halves we need to be careful that there are enough opportunities for French players."
by Ben Coles
@bencoles_
Comments
lacroix says...
@lyhel...exactly...undeservedly winning those games- which with a few rubs of the green could have happened- would have rewarded PSA's bad decision making....mind you he's always been obstinate so i don't see him admitting he's got it wrong.
Posted 22:03 27th February 2013
Iyhel says...
@lacroix: well maybe it is for the best, long term speaking, that these three matches turned into three losses, else PSA would have been conforted in his tactics and selection choices...
@swells07: the problem is, we only have two matches left ;)
Posted 09:49 25th February 2013
swells07 says...
the french will turn it around and put in great performances for their last three matches...can't wait for next weekend.
Posted 01:55 25th February 2013
lacroix says...
its not like france have been thrashed in any of these three losses....they have played dreadfully...turnovers, mistakes, lack of cohesion, poor strategy and lost narrowly . they have suffered from some bad luck (and lets face ot some weak refereeing decisions)
-france could easily have won versus italy (who had a purple patch and of course deserved to win but may not achieve such accuracy for a long time)
-wales hardly unpicked the french defence at will, and were allowed to slow down french ball ...not to say france deserved a win when they played with a lack of ebergy which was frankly depressing..but still..
-and england scored a try that should have been disallowed and was, even ignoring the double offences, fortuitous, and two penalties which to be generous were questionable...
so...three losses- and before anyone whines i think france failed to do enough to deserve a single win, (and psa has done enough to deserve a wooden spoon) but ....and heres the thing....with only a little luck/decisions going the other way france could have won all 3 without actually starting to tap the potential of the players available.
Posted 22:48 24th February 2013
melkdave says...
Dont really see what posatives PSA can take ,from the England game.Yes France played with more heart,and direction,but W.Fontanas try was more to do with,his running ability,and Englands poor tackling in that instance,something that doesnt happen often atm .I also agree @Gozar2013 ,time really for the rest of the old guard to go.Im afraid that means Dustouir ,as well as Szarsenski,Clerc,Mtchlak,and others,New hooker,,new backrow,and more encouagement to the clubs to invest in french players..Maybe a cap on overseas players ,even though the LNR wont like it..French rugby is year on year,getting into a deeper and deeper mess.France are short of FHs and wingers,how long before it hits the pack,even now class frontrows are in short supply,and more clubs are investing in overseas backrow and locks .
Posted 21:55 24th February 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
Expect France to win next two. Ireland v Italy could be wooden spoon match which is amazing when you think of week 1.
Posted 18:16 24th February 2013
rollingdoughnut says...
I'm amazed he didn't take Fofana off - he whisked away every other player who was contributing to what looked like a win. I've never see such bad substitutions. If I was the suspicious type, I'd be talking match-fixing. But I think it's simply total imcompetence. As an England supporter, I'm relieved, but still wish the French a decent boss - it's no fun beating a side who are this heavily handicapped.
Posted 11:59 24th February 2013
gozar2013 says...
How can this fool take out any positives from 3 losses. Even in the game against England he brought on Michalek, Debaty etc. Michalek is past his best and has done nothing in this six nations. France need to look to the future. I think Clerc whilst he has been a great player, is also past his best.
Also I think Szarsewski the hooker is also past his best. Im also still not convinced of Basteraud on the run on side. Fickeau when fit will be a great partner for Fofana in the centres. Basteraud would be a great impact player of the Chabel like Chabel causing destruction etc in the later stages of the game.
I also so a guy a few years ago Yann David another centre who I thought looked good, but he has neven been given another chance either. I would also like to See Vaahamina picked at Lock, he is a great player and would go well.
They need to start picking some of the young players available so that can develop their skills and gain experience at international level. At present his bench is not great also and instead of bringing on an older replacement she should be selecting some youth on the bench and giving them the experience. He did pick some youth for the tour of Argentina but I have not seen any of these guys play again. Whats the point of giving them one game.
The six nations is gone for France so what have they got to lose, start giving some of the young guys a go. Antoine Guillamon, Yvan Watremez, Christopher Tolofua , flanker Romain Taofifenua, halfback Maxime Machenaud,Geoffrey Doumayroun,Romain Martial, Brice Dulin, vaahamina etc.
In saying all this I believe France will do better once Saint Andrie is gone and they get a decent coaching staff in place.
Posted 08:56 24th February 2013
PREEST says...
Haha the Fench will get the wooden spoon! Dumb coaching is ruining the French side.
Posted 02:26 24th February 2013
Spartacus says...
As a Bok fan I am all too aware of how a bad coach can waste talent. That said, not even the humorous PdV would try and claim positives from Played 3 Lost 3.
I agree with what PSA says about the amount of foreign players in key positions, and he comes across as a good bloke, but he is out of his depth with even poorer coaches in his support team. If he had a great number 2 then maybe he could be good, but currently Lievremont looks better.
Posted 21:39 23rd February 2013
Iyhel says...
70% of foreign players at every number in the top14 would still make 8 to 12 French players to pick from for each position.
Okay, got it, I'll stop to read / listen to PSA comments from now on, I'm getting tired of dumb excuses.
Posted 21:09 23rd February 2013