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16th February 2019
03:04pm GMT

"I think that we are capable of doing what the English do, but are we working on this during training? I think we don't work on it enough, even not at all... We can do this. But do we work on it? No."On the latest episode of JOE UK's House of Rugby, English rugby stars James Haskell and Mike Tindall felt there was some amount of buck-passing going on, and that a rake of established stars had let themselves and their country down. After being informed that the above comments were from Parra, a disgusted Tindall exclaimed,
"The French players are very good at circling the wagons for themselves and pushing the guy at the top out... Hang on, Morgan Parra! He f***ing got ran past by a try by a flanker when they put in that kick for Jonny May's try. He shouldn't even be in the team! "Everyone is saying he shouldn't be in the team, so why is he speaking up? Antoine Dupont should be in there, playing ahead of him. When England put that kick through, they didn't even try running back. I know it was Jonny May running past him, but you're supposed to at least try and look like you're making an effort, to be a leader of that team."Haskell, who played with Stade Francais in the Top 14 before, believes French rugby officials are afraid to make the tough decisions that are needed to get their national team back to their former glories. Tindall feels those in charge of national team affairs need to prioritise an elite squad set-up that gives senior players more time training together before big championships. "The days of you rocking up five days before a Test match and then playing are not going to work," said Tindall. The full conversation is available here [from 28:00 below] and is well worth your time. https://youtu.be/SvnhZa316W4
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