Are France’s Six Nations modernists superior to the classical old masters?
It is only three years ago, having just watched France throw away a 16-0 interval lead to Wales in Paris, that the former Les Bleus flanker and multiple grand slam winner Olivier Magne delivered a few home truths. “We won’t win anything with the current generation,” he hissed. “When I hear some players after games, it’s never their fault. At the first hitch, they collapse psychologically. This generation has been associated with defeat for too long … they are deeply traumatised.”
