France defence coach Shaun Edwards delivered an emotional speech to his squad following their narrow win over Scotland, telling them: 'We are together!'
Les Bleus bounced back from their bruising opening weekend defeat to Ireland with victory at Murrayfield on Saturday. But the win came in controversial circumstances as Scotland were denied a late match-winning score, with the TMO's decision sparing France's blushes after a low-quality game riddled with errors.
After a dismal showing in Marseille a week earlier, France were still all over the place at times in Edinburgh, conceding seven first-half penalties, losing lineouts, fumbling the ball and even missing touch with a penalty, as they opted for kick-tennis over attacking with ball in hand.
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In the end, Fabian Galthie's side got the win, but they will have to vastly improve if they are to challenge Ireland, who already look on their way to a successive Six Nations - and potentially Grand Slam - title. Frankly, in the absence of key men like Antoine Dupont, Romaine Ntamack and Anthony Jelonche, they have looked a shadow of their former selves.
After returning from Edinburgh, Edwards - who joined the French coaching set-up from Wales in 2019 - had some short, sharp advice for his players. While he stopped well short of tearing them apart, he said he would not shy away from "constructive criticism" as he gave a brief but emotive speech in a team meeting.
Speaking in French, he said: "For me... you make a defensive mistake, I make a defensive mistake. You miss the tackle, I miss the tackle. We are together. I will give constructive criticism, for me and for you."
The rallying cry came days after Edwards defended his side's defensive efforts in a prickly press conference retort. Speaking to the media ahead of the clash with Gregor Townsend's men, the Wigan-born coach was questioned about France conceding nine tries in their previous two matches.
Seemingly annoyed by the question, he snapped back: "We had the best defence at the World Cup". Asked if he was angry, he added: "I am normally angry when we lose. It means a lot to me and I know how much it means to the people of France, the France supporters.
"In the last four years we have a 75 per cent win ratio, 80 per cent sometimes. It (the Ireland game) is the only time I feel we did not perform anywhere near the level we normally do."
