Yachvili declares himself fit for France

Dimitri Yachvili. Photo: REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
Dimitri Yachvili. Photo: REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
France scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili, who orchestrated Saturday's French victory over England, has declared himself fit to face the Welsh in this weekend's rugby World Cup semifinal.

The master strategist said on Wednesday he may not kick against Wales, however, and could hand the task to Morgan Parra.

Yachvili had not trained since last weekend's dramatic victory, but told reporters he had started running again and would be ready to face the Welsh at Eden Park.

"Yes, I am confident everything is fine," he smiled, when asked if he would take his place in the starting 15 on Saturday night. "There's a risk that I won't do the kicking, though.

"I am still healing but things are coming along well. I started running again this morning.

"I took a blow to the thigh in the match against England, but have rested it since then. You need a few days' rest for it to begin healing properly," he explained.

Such is Yachvili's influence, the news is a blow to Wales who hope to reach their first World Cup final.

"Yachvili looks to me like a man who totally understands the game of rugby," Wales defensive coach Shaun Edwards told reporters in Auckland.

"The French forwards love him as their scrumhalf because he almost coaches them on the pitch."

Yachvili smiled when asked of his great influence.

"Marc (Lievremont) is the coach," he said in a central Auckland hotel. "And our performances have been getting better and better.

"We won last week because we played at our correct level, and we need to make sure we do the same this week. We needed to reduce things down to the simple basics after the loss to Tonga in the group stages ... just go back to French rugby.

"We gave the best of ourselves against the English so there is no reason we should not do the same against the Welsh this weekend."

Yachvili said the French camp had done all they could and were perfectly prepared.

"For us the organisation is done and it is the team spirit which will win the game. The team spirit is good.

"We are all very motivated. This is a World Cup semi-final and an exceptional moment for anyone."

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