The French are coming
The Top 14 Final on the weekend was a boreathon with only one passage of bright play.
It will be remembered chiefly for being the last game played by England hero Jonny Wilkinson, but at least it was interesting to see some of the players who had to rush to Australia after the game for the test series against the Wallabies.
Alexandre Menini (Toulon) ) – loosehead prop. At age 30 he has risen without trace except in the eyes of French coach Philippe Saint-André. He wasn’t noticeable when he played for Biarritz and was about the same when he came off the bench in the second half of the final for Toulon.
Brice Mach (Castres) – hooker. Threw OK to the lineout, which is a lot better than when he had a notable shocker in his test debut, from the bench, against Wales in Six Nations.
Remi Tales (Castres) – flyhalf. Had a decent game after he got a few knocks and had to have a concussion test. He came back on and passed one ball into touch. This bloke is playing for France only because there aren’t many decent French qualified flyhalves starting in the Top 14. If he were a cricketer he would be military medium.
Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon) – outside center. Had a couple of good runs before oranges but was invisible in the second half, which is a good trick for a man of his size. Maybe it was because he broke his nose. The Wallabies should challenge him to make decisions because he is not the zippiest of defenders. Don’t let him line you up though. Oh, no.
Mathieu Bastareaud – not the zippiest of defenders
Brice Dulin (Castres) – fullback. The most brilliant open-field runner in France, but did not have many opportunities created for him; nor could he force any. The only thing I remember from him is one dodgy kick.
Remi Lamerat (Castres) – inside centre. Class player; had some hard runs but didn’t breach the defence—not that anybody else did either.
Frédéric Michalak (Toulon) – scrumhalf/flyhalf. Made no mistakes but did not challenge opponents either, because Toulon didn’t pick him in their matchday team. This bloke will be the reserve flyhalf behind Tales (see above) unless they start him, which would be the French thing to do.
