Pelous wants revenge for Paris defeat

FRENCH second row and captain, Fabien Pelous will never forget his first ten minutes of international rugby, at Lansdowne Road four years ago.

FRENCH second row and captain, Fabien Pelous will never forget his first ten minutes of international rugby, at Lansdowne Road four years ago.

"I don’t think I ever experienced such an atmosphere or such a physical opening to the game. It was like a wake up call when you had to adjust to a new challenge like no challenge you ever faced before.

"Ireland came out and played with such passion that I was gasping for breath in those opening moments. It was an amazing experience."

Pelous survived to tell the tale and tomorrow will make his third appearance at the world’s oldest international ground.

Now, he believes the Irish challenge will be more measured and more imposing, because the Irish game has changed so much over the last four years.

"Then, I think it was all about passion from the Irish. Now they have a lot of skill to go with that passion and the last three results between the two countries tell the truth that there is no longer that much between us."

The French captain looked in relaxed mood at his team’s pre Six Nations press conference yesterday but made it clear: "I won’t be so relaxed on Saturday. Against Ireland you cannot afford that luxury."

Pelous has had plenty of experience playing against Irish sides, both international and provincial, in the last few seasons.

He knows all about the heartbreak of playing with Toulouse and losing to Munster in last year’s Heineken Cup semi final and about losing to Ireland in Paris a year ago.

So is revenge on the agenda? "Absolutely," he said, despite being hit with the facts that France have won 15 of the last 16 games between the countries.

"That’s really history. What matters is that we were beaten by Ireland last year and, of course, those of us who played in that game want revenge."

Mind you, he doesn’t have much support in that regard because he is just one of three French players in action tomorrow who have come through from last year’s match.

Ireland, in contrast, have 12 of the team who helped break that French winning sequence. But Pelous isn’t particularly disturbed that the men in green have had a longer run at international rugby than his own colleagues.

"I think what it says is that the team we had out in Paris was not good enough at the end of the day. We had to start from scratch and we now have 12 of the side that beat the All Blacks in the Autumn. That was probably our starting point, not the match against Ireland last year."

Pelous is not worried about the fact that his side failed to put Scotland totally to the sword in Paris a fortnight ago.

"We know ourselves that we did not play very well. We know, however, that we can play very well as a team and I think we did that against New Zealand. This year we have not had so many injury problems and we have been able to work better as a team."

French coach Guy Laporte obviously agrees given that he picked the same team, bar banned scrum half Fabien Galthie, for successive matches.

"I said earlier in the week that I would not make too many changes, if any.

I decided to show faith in the players because it was the first match of the Championship season and that first match is always difficult. I think this is a better side than we looked against Scotland. We cannot be satisfied with that performance but I am placing my trust in the players and I hope they can deliver."

Laporte made no bones in Dublin yesterday about his desire to exact revenge for defeat in Paris last year.

"It really doesn’t matter what went before that and how many games we won in succession. I think every team would have the same view and try to gain revenge for the result that went immediately before."

Lansdowne Road has been the most fruitful of away grounds for French rugby teams in the last two decades but Laporte was not prepared to draw any conclusions on that.

"These days, teams can travel away and win. The game is more than just about passion now. Skill and planning comes into it in a big way. Ireland would not have won in Paris last year through passion alone. Neither will we do so in Dublin."

Laporte is convinced he will have his work cut out to exact that revenge for last year:"I admire the way Ireland came to terms with professional rugby. Four years ago, or less, most of their players were abroad but Warren Gatland’s policy of bringing those players home has clearly worked.

"Almost all of them are now in an environment where there is a lot of control for a national coach. They are playing with good sides and those sides are playing good rugby in Europe. I would say Ireland are now a team with some complex tactics which makes it difficult for other teams to counteract. It is also an Irish team with very talented individuals but talented people who fit very well into the collective situation.

"I think the Irish back-line are probably amongst the best in the world at the present time. I take no notice of past history. We can talk about all the times we won in Dublin in the past but it is no good. What matters is the game this weekend. Different teams, different circumstances.

"I like to think we can win but it will be tough. Ireland played well against Italy and I will tell you that they are a very difficult side to play against, particularly in Rome."

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