No Lievremont pique as France beat Canada

France’s 46-19 victory over Canada left coach Marc Lievremont “satisfied” and certainly in no mood to repeat the fit of pique he unleashed after an unconvincing opening win against Japan. Lievremont had rounded on his team after that opener, in which France ran in six tries but allowed the Japanese back into the game in the second half.

“I’m happy, of course,” Lievremont said after watching Morgan Parra notch up a 23-point haul to help France to the win over Canada.

“I was annoyed last week and I said so. I’m not going to be unhappy after every game. We got a bonus point, and that is just reward for the team and the public. “That’s not to say that everything was perfect, I got a bit annoyed but in general I’m satisfied.” France went into half-time 19-10 up after three unanswered Parra penalties in the final crucial nine minutes of the first half.

The French stepped up a gear in the second period, Vincent Clerc completing a hat-trick of tries while Damien Traille also crossed for a five-pointer, the metronomic boot of Parra all the time keeping the scoreline ticking over. AFP