Oct 17, 2007, 10:07 GMT
Paris - The France and Argentina rugby sides have been trying hard to show enthusiasm for a game neither side really wanted to play, the playoff for third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
For hosts France, revenge for losing the tournament's opening match to the Pumas by 17-12 will surely be a source of motivation on Friday at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Wing Aurelien Rougerie said: 'We want to prove it wasn't the real French team which lost the opening match to Argentina. And for some players it will be their international swansong.'
For the French, who were beaten by England 14-9 in last Saturday's semi-final, the third-place playoff is a particularly bitter consolation prize, since they had galvanized the entire country by defeating favourites New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
Coach Bernard Laporte, who will join President Nicolas Sarkozy's government as junior minister for sports and youth after the tournament, has taken the brunt of the blame for the loss, with even some of his players expressing dismay over the game plan, which saw the French kick the ball to occupy territory rather than exploit their superior speed.
Perhaps as a result of the criticism, Laporte has replaced 21-year-old fly half Lionel Beauxis, an excellent kicker, with Frederic Michalak, a much better ball handler and runner.
This suggests that the French will be going back to their traditional flee-flowing attacking rugby, which can lead to spectacular tries or embarrassing handling mistakes.
Arguably, Argentina have less at stake in the match, since they have accomplished what they set out to do in the tournament, reaching the semi-finals, impressing the rugby world with their skills and perhaps opening the door to being invited to join the Six Nations tournament in Europe or the Tri Nations Cup in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Pumas certainly looked less intense than usual in Sunday's 37-13 semi-final loss to South Africa, in which they committed a great number of handling errors and mental lapses. Some measure of motivation will certainly come from trying to erase memories of that defeat.
The other incentive is emotional, as Argentina's number 8, Gonzalo Longo Elia, explained.
'We're going to try for the best way to end this experience, which has been spectacular... It's very unlikely that all the players and coaches will get back together again. This is the end of many years of hard work, and we need to give it a good ending,' he said.
The two teams know each other well, since most of the Argentine internationals play their club rugby in France. The key to the contest will be the ability of the French backs to spread the Argentine defence.
The Pumas' defence, the best of the tournament, held its own against the Springboks, who scored most of their points off mistakes made by the Argentine offence.
In any case, players on both sides will play their final game of the World Cup with a heavy heart, since it comes one day earlier than they had hoped.
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