Six Nations Betting 
/ Maxliu / 31 January 2011 / Leave a Comment 
These two won't give up their trophy without a fight
"We committed suicide against Australia... But the important thing is to win the Six Nations and I think we will."
France coach and captain believe their team is strong enough to win every match but have the scars of their Aussie nightmare really healed?
France coach Marc Lievremeont gave a typically obfuscatory press conference at the launch of the Six Nations as his team prepare to defend the Grand Slam they won last year.
But Lievremont was frank enough to admit that he has had to rethink his team's approach after their humiliating autumn defeat to Australia.
He said: "Last year was a strange one for France. A Grand Slam in the first part and then a terrible autumn.The past six months have been tough. But we have now regained the confidence and respect of our fans."
It may not be the fans that the French boss needs to keep half and eye on over the coming weeks. He could come under pressure from his employers if the French fail to get off to a good start against Scotland in Paris this Saturday.
"I'm confident we can fulfill our potential in this tournament," he said. "I do feel safe in my job. I feel no pressure. The important thing is to win the Six Nations and I think we will."
Still, that 59-16 defeat against an Australia team that had been trounced by Six Nations rivals England only weeks before clearly scarred Les Bleus.
"We lacked precision in the first half of that match and then we committed suicide in the second half. It can happen but we must make sure that it doesn't happen again."
Lievremont went on to talk up his current team, saying that this is strongest squad he has ever coached. French captain Thierry Dusautoir echoed his comments, saying: "It's not easy to lose the way we did against the Wallabies and it was difficult to recover from. But we are over it now and we know we can win the Grand Slam."
Defiant words from the French but amongst the optimism you sense that the Australian catastrophe may yet affect their displays over the next few weeks. That's certainly been a factor in how the Betfair markets have shaped up, with France [3.45] second favourites to win the tournament behind England [2.96]. You can get [9.0] on a French Grand Slam but punters are confident that Lievremont's men will win their first game on Saturday. They're [1.14] with Scotland [9.2].
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