This was not just a game of two halves, it was a story of two games. In the first you were counting yourself lucky to be witnessing an utterly compelling Test match where, for a change, the atmosphere in the crowd complemented the action on the field. In the second – specifically the last 33 minutes – France nipped into the pits and came out with new tyres and a tank full of turbo juice. And that was that.
The modern version of France has the capacity to play like the best team in the world. It does not happen like dialling up the numbers to order the same dish. Sometimes they do not just produce the wrong food but do not even show at all.
