French had a rule: ‘When at home you never lose.' They did!

The picture of Serge Blanco and Jon Webb at the end of the ‘91 World Cup quarter-final that was in last week’s Rugby Paper brought back so many great memories of my seven matches (we won six) against les Bleus.

- JEFF PROBYN

I have to say that in my mind the French are by far the best team to play rugby against, particularly if you are a forward. As a back you faced one of the most innovative, instinctive and talented group of players who could produce majestic moves from anywhere on the pitch, but as a forward it was a different game.

Facing the French was always a challenge, especially in Paris. They were physically and technically very good and were schooled in a game that said ‘when at home you never lose’.

At club level in France the game was refereed very differently with partisan crowds who would not think twice at abusing a referee if the home team lost. This effectively led to the home side being given