In a raucous and colour-drenched Stade Chaban-Delmas, Leinster edged out French heavyweights Clermonts in an absolute dogfight of a semi-final. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Morgan Parra
Didn’t You Used to be ‘Le Crunch’?
England take on France in Paris on Sunday in a match that used to define the tournament. Continue reading
France 17 – 17 Ireland – Match Reaction #1: Halfbacks

Francois Trinh-Duc: the French outhalf struggled to put shape on the game when the Plan A – Bash It Up The Outhalf Channel – fell on its face.
The Mole thought in the build-up to the game that the absence of Yachvilli was overplayed by some commentators. Parra is such an accomplished operator in his own right, and is perhaps a little more dangerous as a runner. However, Yachvili has a wealth of experience that Parra can’t yet hope to compete with, and it showed in a couple of circumstances. Continue reading
And The Winner Is …
The nominees for the IRB International Player of the Year Award are out, and there are a few curious choices and notable omissions. Continue reading
Surprise, Surprise!
In any catalogue of modern out-halves, the names of Grant Fox, Michael Lynagh, Joel Stransky, Stephen Larkham and Jonny Wilkinson inevitably feature at the top. Continue reading
Morgan Parra: A French Crisis With An Emerald Lining
In France, it’s more or less accepted that a crisis is an obligatory requirement for the entertainment and distraction of the masses. Continue reading
Le Grand Bomp: England vs France
History
Le Crunch is the game traditionally considered as the top draw of the Six Nations, despite the fact hat over much of the last decade, it has not been the case. Similarly, despite England’s recent woes in that tournament (this year being their first Championship win since their 2003 team preceded their World Cup victory with a Grand Slam) England have a very decent record against France of late, losing only one of the last five head-to-heads. Continue reading
Match Report: Tonga 19 – 14 France
Tonga put a beating on France that wasn’t reflected in the final scoreline. Vincent Clerc dotted down in the last minute of the game to put a bit of a gloss on what was a horrific defeat for a French team utterly lacking in heart and direction. Continue reading
The Ballad of Marc Lievremont
The Mole enjoyed a very good article on ESPN Scrum.com by Ian Moriarty about Marc Lievremont and his appalling relationship with the media/his players/the French public. Continue reading