The team had a very good second half against the Italians, and we want to continue to forge ahead to beat the English. |
To go out as captain of the side that won the World Cup showed his real worth as a player, and he was respected by everyone in France. |
We are of course sorry for Thomas because he made a great comeback in November but he pulled a thigh muscle on Saturday in the Heineken Cup match against Biarritz. We talked to him this morning and he told us he should be fit again in two weeks. |
We are very happy to have won three matches so far, and to be unbeaten at Stade de France. But we must remember that we must at all costs win this tournament. |
We decided to rely on the players who gave us full satisfaction in November against South Africa and Australia when they were available. |
We expect him to be fit but we don't want him to pass it on to the other guys. |
We have won 13 out of 15 matches in the tournament in three years, we are unbeaten at home in seven matches since last November and we have beaten the tries record. |
We just talked to Thomas, he said he had fully recovered and would play at the weekend with his Saracens club. Thomas made a brilliant comeback in November. He can play at fly-half, centre or full-back - for the time being we think of him as a full-back. |
We knew from the beginning that the championship could be more open than the previous years and that the strongest challenge would come from England. |
We prefer to keep managing it (the strain). Frederic wanted to train from Wednesday morning but we prefer to hold him back. |
We preferred to leave the group in place to let them continue working in peace. |
We wanted to select him in July and in November but he was ruled out through injuries. We are glad to give him a new opportunity to prove his worth. |
We will count on the team from November but competition still exists within the group and that's for the best. |