The players responded today. I'm not saying we are favorites to win the Six Nations but we definitely have taken an option toward that. England are probably out of it now. |
The strength of a great team is they do not give away points - for the time being we are not at the level of the All Blacks on that point. |
The will still be a lot of competition until we name our World Cup squad and even until the World Cup starts. We'll need three players for every position. |
There will be changes and they will be logical ones, not punitive ones. |
There will no Grand Slam, so what? Sunday's match is still for us the highlight of the season because of the long-standing rivalry between the two teams. |
They always lose when it matters. |
This is not a punishment for Jean-Baptiste. But Dimitri is fresher physically and he has always been good against the English. |
This is not a punishment. They always share the matches. |
This was an important match because the result was a determining factor in who wins the tournament. We haven't won the title yet, but we are on the right track. The players handled the pressure very well and with a lot of determination. That is what made the difference. |
Those points were like a ball and chain for us. We couldn't throw them off. |
We are trying to have two teams at the same level. |
We became more focused in our game and that enables us to put some points on the board. |
We feel relaxed but we know that we must be patient ... and not be scared to take a step back during the game. The English are a brick wall that we must try to break. |
We have identified areas where we can improve. |
We know what to expect. They will try to put us under pressure and play for territorial advantage. They will be like a wall and we will have to be patient to move that wall. |