Imanol Harinordoquy discounts coach Marc Lièvremont's part in 2011 Rugby World Cup success
French international Rugby Union player, Imanol Harinordoquy, has discredited their former coach, Marc Lièvremont, efforts during their heroic run in the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) tournament.
French international number eight, Harinordoquy made these comments while talking to Midi Olympique on Monday, October 31.
Harinordoquy confirmed that most of the team had overlooked Lièvremont's suggestions following their historic defeat at the hands of the Tonga in their last pool match of the RWC tournament.
Tonga delivered a upset defeat to France as they handed over a five-point loss to the Les Bleus at Westpac Stadium, Wellington on Saturday, October 1. Harinordoquy said, “After the defeat against
Tonga I did not attach too much importance to what Marc said.”
France was placed in Pool A of the 2011 RWC tournament. Besides France, other teams in the pool A included, All Blacks, Canada, Tonga and Japan. France made a strong comeback in the tournament
following their defeat as they ended the tournament as runner’s up.
France defeated England in their quarter-final game and secured a place in the final of the 2011 RWC tournament against the tournament hosts, All Blacks, by defeating Wales in their semifinal
encounter.
Harinordoquy credited the senior players for the French team's change in fortune in the tournament. He added that the team was able to perform successfully in the knockout stages game only
because the senior players took the matter in “their own hands”. He added, “It was our adventure. It was meant to be the nice experience of 30 men. We had to free ourselves from his supervision.”
Criticising Lièvremont’s coaching style; Harinordoquy added that Lièvremont created a pressure cooker situation for the players. He added that at times, Lièvremont appeared to be “lost” as
if he did not know what to do. He added, “"He cast the stone at us too often. When something goes wrong, we're all in the same boat. There are no good or bad guys.”
Harinordoquy added, “I will not miss him.” Lièvremont’s tenure as the head coach of the French national team has ended. He assumed charge of the national side at the end of the 2007 RWC from
Bernard Laporte.
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