Getting whooped by NZ and barely scraped a win against PNG - is this what we've got to look forward to next year in playing performance?

France were not great tonight, pretty one dimensional stuff and a high kick on the last was the only real tactic. To be fair though he doesn't have too much to work with and they were up against a much stronger line up. Although he better get used to that situation pretty sharpish.

He should be pretty much used to it by now

Always an odd choice for France. He's hardly the most inspiring of characters and his coaching record is poor. The real shame is 17k turned up to watch France get walloped.

I'm sure he will "Take some positives" out of the game......

Wouldn't have got that if PNG bloke hadn't spooned that penalty wide.
Can't see them getting much change out of Samoa.
Think Agar has a pretty good side to work with, it's the majority of the Catalan side that finished well up the table.
Does their performance reflect Agars coaching or how poor our competition is compared the Australian comp?

Anybody notice a familiar pattern in defending against kicks?

How did France fail to score in that last attack of theirs? Almost like they'd backed themselves to be nilled. Then to let The Kiwis cross the line after the 80 minutes were up!
Pathetic performance all round and very similar to Catalans end of season play off stuff.

Surprise surprise Wakey fans looking for negatives. You have to look at the game and basically it was a mid table Superrleague team against the World champions, ......would Wigan, Warrington or Leeds have beaten NZ ? I thought France went ok against a far superior team . Issac Luke was outstanding . The French support was amaxing...they cheered their team on till the end, some could take a lesson from that !

To be fair Sue... I am not sure I saw a team 'doing ok'... I saw a team doing their best... But that's not the same thing.

I though Ollie deserved more as did the big centre... The rest were not in the same class as NZ who were bigger, faster, more skilled, and better coached... And didn't include a number of their best players.

I can't see why an average team losing to the World champions has any reflection on the coach.
Although scoreline was quite big they broke away a lot and were stopped on line a number of times.
Individual skills was the difference for me not tactics.

I'd disagree there, I think their tactics are too negative. Traditionally French teams throw the ball around a lot more and play with more flair. In their first two games they've played a tight game with a big kick on the last which is nullifying their natural talent. One try in two game is proof of that and the first game wasn't against big hitters like NZ, it was against the mostly part-timers and reserve graders of PNG. If they try a forward battle against Samoa they will struggle 'cos those guys are huge. Let them throw it about Richard!

How good did people think that France were before the World Cup began.
They were only ever a second level international team, some way behind Aussie, Kiwis and England.
The French defence was outstanding against PNG, although they did lack some ideas with ball in hand and it's likely that they would be trying to keep something back for their next game, in which a win would allow them to progress.

If people are looking for every excuse to bash Agar, it's going to be "fun" next season, when he has to attempt to get a meagre squad through a difficult SL season.

How long will it be before the first "Agar out" thread starts ?

Boxing Day and every game thereafter if this forum follows it's usual course and let's not forget Fox. I actually feel sorry for him because with all the departures some on this forum have no one left currently except Fox to criticise. Then again it could be good for him depending who we get in he could end up well down the list of players the forum dislikes.
Just think Lynne will be a starter does anyone know how many passes he made last season because I can't actually remember any. We could also have Molloy need I go on, at least it's Halloween so the time for frightening possibilities. I hope you don't have nightmares tonight dreaming of next season's team remember our board have it under control apparently.

I wasn't referring to Agar... My intent was to highlight that the NZ players are subject to better coaching from being kids right through to being internationals.. Breaking the line is not just about being bigger and stronger, it's knowing when and where to run, how to position the body an d when to push through the line and when to take the tackle... I will rephrase by saying the kiwis were better educated in the game.

The Kiwi's are the current world champions and will very likely be contesting the final with Aus this time around.
The are a much stronger RL nation than France and tbf, if Agar was coaching the Kiwi's, they would still dominate France.
What you say about the coaching is bang on but, there are more kids receiving this better level of coaching from a young age and consequently, more of these will develop into better coached players.

Most of the Kiwi's are playing week in, week out in the NRL - they were always going to be bigger, fitter and better players than the French; not sure what the coach can do about that in the few months he's been in charge, if at all.

The only team that can genuinely compete with them is the Aussies, and that will likely come down to Kiwi indiscipline and their habit of switching off for periods of the game.

It was always going to be a blow-out - the only question was by how much.

You may not even get the chance.

Intriguing, can't imagine who would want him.

Neither can i unless he's staying in France with Catalans or Toulouse.

If he does leave, let's hope he takes Reece Lynne and Jon Molloy with him

I disagree. I think Reece Lynne was ok in patches last season but isn't a centre and would probably go better as a replacement for Cockayne on the wing to utilise his pace. He played there pre season last year and looked pretty good scoring a try or two.

As for Molloy is he still at WTW? Thought his deal was till the end of the season? Hopefully we've not got him tied into a deal, think he must have injury issues as never seemed to last on the pitch when picked.

Thought pre season training started last week? Wonder how many turned up?

Molloy signed a 2 year deal so we are stuck with him.

I did hear rumours of Agar going to Catalans a few months ago but when he got the france gig I assumed it was that...cant really see why they would opt for him but they have for the france job so who knows....what I do know is that he is not a happy bunny as he is used to spending heavily in the transfer market and that isn't going to happen this season, and he will know that with the squad he is going to have its going to be a struggle.....despite the spin that he is looking forward to the challenge he would jump ship if the opportunity came along because I am sure he will know that the fans will be calling for his head by round four !!

Round 2 if we don't win both games.