Frayssinous blames NRL-Super League gap after France beaten 78-4 by Samoa in Parramatta
France head coach Laurent Frayssinous said the widening gap between the NRL and Super League was a major factor after France were routed 78-4 by Samoa in Parramatta in Friday's Men's Rugby League World Cup.
Samoa scored 14 tries in the Pool B-C match, with Melbourne Storm winger Sua Fa'alogo coming off the bench to score four and have a fifth ruled out after replacing the injured Deine Mariner, who had opened the scoring. France's only try came in the first half from Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet; Samoa also registered two tries for Benaiah Ioelu and one each for Jermaine McEwen, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Stephen Crichton, Shawn Blore, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Izack Tago and Francis Molo. Frayssinous admitted his team were "all over the shop" in the opening 20 minutes when Samoa scored five times, and France suffered head injuries to winger Leo Darrelatour and stand-off Cesar Rouge, although Rouge was able to return after an assessment.
Asked why the defeat was heavier than the 62-4 loss to Samoa at the last World Cup in Warrington four years ago, Frayssinous pointed to the NRL's improvement, saying: "I have a question for you," and "Do you think the NRL is far better now than four years ago? Then you have the answer." He added: "The NRL keeps growing and keeps getting better every year," and warned the standard there was rising "at the top, at the top, at the top. A step up, step up, step up."
Frayssinous contrasted that with the Super League, saying: "Does that mean Super League isn't? No. Super League is [getting] better every year, but not as fast as the NRL. The smartness, the skill the guys have under pressure, the touches, week in, week out, that's something we need to improve in Super League, simple as that." He noted most of Samoa's squad play in the NRL while France's side is largely made up of Super League players, although they included South Sydney Rabbitohs centre Latrell Siegwalt.
On the prospect of greater NRL involvement in Europe, Frayssinous said: "Definitely," and added: "What the NRL has done here is so good, what they bring to the game is great, so we want the NRL to do it the same in Europe."
Samoa head coach Ben Gardiner highlighted his side's depth after Fa'alogo replaced Mariner, who "will have a scan on a hamstring strain." Gardiner said: "We were planning for him [Fa'alogo] to play at some stage, and he just got on a bit earlier than he probably would have thought," and "And to his credit, he went out and had a blinder."
In the women's tournament, Australia beat Samoa 40-0 in their Pool A opener at Western Sydney Stadium in Parramatta as part of the double-header. Australia, "widely expected to win a fourth successive Women's Rugby League World Cup," scored seven tries through Jaime Chapman, Julia Robinson, Shaylee Bent, Keeley Nizza, Olivia Kernick, Keilee Joseph and Jessica Sergis, with debutant stand-off Jocelyn Kelleher singled out for her kicking. Samoa defended well at times but could not convert pressure into points, and Keeley Nizza was one of Australia's seven try-scorers.
Australia head coach Jess Skinner said: "There are lots of work-ons for us moving forward," and "It was a little bit scrappy at times." She added: "We need to work on our starts, and we need some high finishes to end our sets and probably some strong defence in the first three tackles. But overall, there were lots of little wins to be proud of." Skinner also urged support for the women's game, saying: "Let's get around women in sport, right? All women in sport, particularly at this Rugby League World Cup," and "We've got a lot of talented women across all the teams and the message would be to stay and support that. "Something really cool's happening in this generation of sport, with our ladies, and you're going to miss history-making moments at this World Cup, no doubt."
The tournament runs from 15 October to 15 November across Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, and Australia's next scheduled match is against England in Perth a week on Saturday.
