France warned not to underestimate Flying Fijians

France’s players have been told to forget about South Africa and focus on the Flying Fijians ahead of Sunday’s Nations Championship clash in Lyon.

The warning came from France attack coach Patrick Arlettaz, who reiterated that the match against Fiji should not be viewed as a preparation game for the following week’s clash against South Africa.

“You can clearly see how dangerous this Fiji team is. This is not a preparation match for the next match; it is a real match that is difficult to win right from the start,” Arlettaz said at a press conference.

He recalled the difficulties France experienced against Fiji in Bordeaux a year ago, when they managed to secure a 34-21 victory.

“I’m not sure that by treating it as a preparation match we’ll be able to beat them, so we’re going to prepare ourselves to face them first,” Arlettaz said.

The Flying Fijians are now under the guidance of Rugby World Cup-winning coach Jake White, who led South Africa to the title in 2007.

The team have been training in Lyon, where former Wallabies flanker and rugby great George Smith, now an assistant coach at Lyon, took the players through a session on jackalling for possession.