One thing that you quickly have to learn in France is that the referee is always against the French team. It doesn’t matter what the sport is, it doesn’t matter what the occasion is, the referee will always be against the French.

So it was with some amazement that I read that the French coach is not blaming the referee for their narrow defeat in the rugby World Cup final to New Zealand. France played out of their skins and probably deserved to win but luck was not on their side. The French coach graciously acknowledged this.

However, his players are not so ready to upset a long-standing French tradition. They HAVE blamed the ref. for the defeat.