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France threat not lost in translation
Wayne Smith | June 27, 2008
BAYONNE-BASED Australian player Manny Edmonds couldn't agree more with Wallabies coach Robbie Deans' assessment of tomorrow's Test opponents. "ll y a toutes les raisons pour accorder aux Bleus le plus grand respect".
That, at least, was how French sporting newspaper L'Equipe reported Deans' statement. Edmonds, the former Waratahs five-eighth, put it simpler: "There are a lot of reasons to accord Les Bleus the greatest respect".
The 26-man squad to play Australia in two Tests has been dismissed as the weakest sent abroad by France, with none of the players from the four teams involved in last weekend's Top 14 semi-finals, Clermont, Toulouse, Stade Francais and Perpignan, selected for the tour.
It's akin to sending the Wallabies on tour with no Waratahs or Brumbies on board.
France threat not lost in translation | The Australian