'We were making a lot of handling errors and our kicking out of hand was well below par,' says Laporte
It was not all about love on St Valentines Day as France coach Bernard Laporte handed out stern criticism of his young flyhalf Frederic Michalak following their 35-17 victory over Ireland in their opening Six Nations match.
Laporte was delighted to have got off to a winning start in his new four-year reign but admitted that the Irish - who were missing six frontline players through injury - had caused them some worrying moments.
However Laporte said he had been less than impressed by Michalak's kicking, especially in the first half as the 21-year-old tried to erase the unhappy memories from his performance against England in the World Cup semi-final last year.
'We were lacking any momentum in the first half,' said Laporte, who signed a new four-year contract late last year after some indecision. 'It was mainly because of the Irish pressure and we were a bit hit and miss. We were making a lot of handling errors and our kicking out of hand was well below par. Michalak needed to wake up.'
Laporte praised the Irish for their non-stop efforts to stay in the match but said their backs had been too predictable which, without tryscorers Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie, was always the fear for the visitors.
'The Irish ball retention through some multi-phase moves was excellent. However, they were a bit stereotyped and our defence was quick into the tackle which meant we never panicked,' added Laporte. This was borne out by flanker Serge Betsen topping the tackles list with 15.