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France's Damien Traille evades a desperate Japanese defender  © Getty Images
France's Damien Traille evades a desperate Japanese defender   

FRA  51 v JAP 29: What they said  

19/10/2003

 

Bernard LAPORTE (FRA) - Coach

"Congratulations to Japan. They showed their true selves. They had lots of speed and agility. They put us under pressure. We should have kicked behind them more. In the second half they started off really well, and we made lots of mistakes."

On whether he was ever worried:

"I felt confident in the first half (but) we lost control in the last 10 minutes. In the second half they played a strong game in our half."

Christophe DOMINICI (FRA) - winger

On Japan's performance:

"I found them dynamic and fast from the breakdowns. They provided our defence with more trouble than in previous games. Their collective spirit and determination will give a lot of problems to other teams."

Shogo MUKAI (JPN) - coach

"That was one of the finest moments, if I can say that. My target with this team was that if we lost to a big nation that it would not be by a big score. I wanted to build a team with a strong defence."

Takuro MIUCHI (JPN) - Captain

"The loss was regrettable. I can't say it's good because we lost. We are a lower ranking team and don't compare but we have done a good thing for Japanese rugby by making them struggle."

Andrew MILLER (JPN) - Flyhalf

"I don't know where that (performance) came from ... we've got a lot of guts."


 

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Fédération Française De Rugby
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