Mark Lièvremont believes his gamble of playing Morgan Parra at the fly-half position has paid off
Les Blues’ head coach, Mark Lièvremont, has termed his decision to play the scrum half Morgan Parra at the fly half position as his biggest gamble of the tournament. He has expressed his relief as he acknowledged that the gamble has paid off.
Lièvremont made these comments on Wednesday, October 12 as Les Bleus continue their preparations for their semi-final encounter against Wales. France reached the semifinals of the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) following their surprise victory over England in
the quarter-finals. France will take on Wales on Saturday, October 15 at Eden Park, Auckland.
Lièvremont has again named Parra at the fly half position in the starting xv for their upcoming encounter against the Wales. He made the move for the first time in the tournament in their pool A encounter against the 2011 RWC hosts, All Blacks.
Providing the details of the factors behind his decision, Lièvremont said, “From the moment I realised that François Trinh Duc wasn't at his best level and that he seemed to doubt himself, and that David Skrela was forced to withdraw due to injury, the choice
of naming Morgan at 10 became obvious.”
Lièvremont has denounced Parra’s size and Welsh strategy to target him. He expressed his confidence in Parra’s defensive skills. He termed him as a brave player and as a player who never backs out from a confrontation.
Lièvremont has said that Parra is similar to former French international fly half, Christophe Deylaud. He added that Parra, who weighs 80 kilograms, is a bit thinner than Deylaud. However, he added that Parra is similar to the Deylaud in reading the game
and understanding the situation quickly.
Commenting on Parra’s game skills, Lièvremont added, “It's a guy who, at 22, is already a coach at Fédérale 2 (French 4th division) level. And that is not a common thing.”
Lièvremont has announced his match day squad for their weekend encounter against Wales. He has named an unchanged side, which defeated England in the quarter-final game last weekend.
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