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/ 24 February 2008

England dash France’s grand-slam hopes

England, fired by the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, dashed French hopes of a Six Nations grand slam with a 24-13 win over France at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. It was England’s first away win over France in the Six Nations since 2000, and left unbeaten Wales as the only side now capable of claiming the grand slam.

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/ 18 February 2008

French out to avenge World Cup woes

France and England meet next Saturday in the Six Nations at the same venue where French World Cup hopes were extinguished by their bitter rivals. New French coach Marc Lievremont has swept out a lot of the old guard and replaced them with fresh faces with a view to rebuilding for the 2011 World Cup.

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/ 10 February 2008

Clerc hat-trick helps bury Ireland

France winger Vincent Clerc once again proved fatal to Irish rugby as he ran in a hat-trick of first-half tries to inspire the French to a 26-21 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday. The 26-year-old flyer — who would not have played had Julien Malzieu not been injured — notched up his sixth try in the last three Tests against the Irish.

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/ 11 October 2007

England face tough French exam

Rarely has the term ”Le Crunch”, often used to describe internationals between England and France, been more appropriate than for Saturday’s World Cup semifinal at the Stade de France. The old rivals will meet for the 90th time, knowing that defeat for either side could signal the end of some distinguished rugby careers.

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/ 21 September 2007

Rugby: Eiffel to the moon?

There have been times during his tenure as Springbok coach when Jake White must have wished he were Bernard Laporte — but this is not one of them. At the same time that White and his charges are relaxing after a job well done, the coach of France is wondering if his team will still be in the World Cup on Saturday morning.

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/ 16 September 2007

Merciless France hammer 14-man Namibia

Hosts France showed no mercy to 14-man Namibia on Sunday as they got some vital momentum for Friday’s crucial Group D World Cup clash with Ireland, winning 87-10 to post their record score in international rugby. Vincent Clerc ran in three tries, while locks Jerome Nallet and Sebastian Chabal grabbed a brace each.

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/ 7 September 2007

Argentina stymie France in Cup opener


Argentina created one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history by beating host nation France 17-12 at Stade Francais on Friday night. In front of a full house at Saint Denis France froze in the headlights and produced a string of errors suggesting that they will not be the force some had expected in the showpiece event.