The anti-Bernard Laporte campaign was expected. Well, here it is! Yesterday, players took issue with his strategic choices. Tomorrow, the newspaper “L’Equipe” is scheduled to publish an inquiry criticizing his business activities. Of course, lessons should be learnt from France’s failure, and transparency is required for a man about to enter the French government. Couldn’t all of this wait two more days?

The final game of Les Bleus’ World Cup indeed is important:
1. It’s the revenge for the opening match that derailed the team
2. It’s an opportunity to conclude what was supposed to be six weeks of the French rugby party
3. The way the game is played may give a hint of how to rebuild the team. A way to test the efficiency of the “French flair” and make it a reference instead of poorly copying the English (or Argentinean) style.

With this one game remaining, focus is on political and financial polemics, ruining this final battle of 30 men on the pitch, and the emotion of emblematic players and their last cap such as Raphael Ibanez, Fabien Pelous or Christophe Dominici.

Usually in rugby the enemies on the field bury the hatchet once out of the stadium. I’m just afraid these values have lost their strength after 6 weeks in France. Last but not least, the President of the French Rugby board has been promoted to President of the International Rugby board. Make a bad a worse…