Sebastien Dhers
has had enough of hearing how France does not deserve to be
in the World Cup final. The University of Otago chemistry
student, who hails from an area near Toulouse, suggests the
media has driven a campaign to discredit Marc Lievremont's
team. When the French lose, they're the worst team in the
world. When they win, they're also the worst team in the
world
Why is everyone saying that France does not deserve to be in
the final?
I'll be the first to admit that France has not played well so
far, but I'm sure the French team, like every other team in
the World Cup, wants to win and has played to win. Is it fair
that everyone is pointing their fingers at France, saying we
do not deserve to be there?
I remember in 2007, being at La place du Capitole, in
Toulouse, with 10,000 other French people, watching on a
giant screen as the All Blacks melted down in front of an
amazing French team in the World Cup quarter-final.
I remember a few days later, at the exact same spot, watching
the English team playing an awful game (as always), ending up
knocking us out of the tournament on a poor drop kick.
No-one stood up to say the French team was an amazing team
that deserved to be in the final. No-one wrote that England
should never have made it that far.
Like most French people, I've always been a fervent supporter
of the All Blacks. I have known since the start of this year
that the Webb Ellis Cup will probably stay in New Zealand for
four years. It is not the All Blacks or New Zealand people I
am mad about.
Rugby used to be about gentlemen and respect. Now it is
becoming a circus where the media are the clowns that prevent
us from seeing the real show. They're all about money,
selling papers and TV ratings: more polemics, more
dwarf-throwing, more endless talking, and more submitting to
public opinion rather than fact.
Rugby professionalism has evolved quickly in the last decade,
but it seems the media and rugby players have grown apart. As
Aurelien Rougerie, the French centre, said this week to
French journalists: "The questions are not always pertinent.
I'm going to try to answer, but it's not my job. We're not
lucky, we have people to judge our work, and apparently we're
not doing a great job. You guys are lucky, no-one is judging
your work."
When the French lose, they're the worst team in the world.
When they win, they're also the worst team in the world.
What if the press was actually asking them about how a team
that didn't have the best players in the World Cup, found the
courage to hold on to their dream, fight for it and make it
all the way to the final against the best team in the world?
Wales might have "deserved" to be in the final, but we played
a game full of bravery and dignity, therefore don't we
deserve our final as well?
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