Les Bleus coach John Monie has called for a second French team in Super League to help make their game stronger.
France coach wants more representation in Super League
Les Bleus coach John Monie believes a second French team needs to be included in Super League to make their game stronger.
He was making his comments after his side were hammered 42-6 in World Cup qualifying Group B by a rampant Fiji in Wollongong.
The flamboyant Fijians can now book a place in the semi-final qualifier against Samoa or Ireland with a win over Scotland next Wednesday.
Monie believes, as well as the Catalans Dragons, a second French team must play in Super League to help grow their talent pool.
He said: "To make French rugby league a little bit stronger, we can't just rely on Catalans.
"We've got to push to get a second team in Super League and to make our talent pool a little bit bigger."
France lost hooker James Wynne with a dislocated elbow in the fifth minute of the defeat but Monie was offering no excuses for his side.
"You've just got to go with what you've got and we certainly didn't shift the ball around enough to ask any questions of their defensive line," he said.
"We fell into a little bit of a trap there we had a fair bit of success down the middle last week (against Scotland) and they thought they could punch some holes down the middle.
"But when you step up and you play against a football team that have got a lot of points in them and the forwards are nice and tight, we just didn't find any room down the middle."
He added: "Like all the players I'm disappointed, we should have played better football than that, they had too much enthusiasm.
"And certainly when they shifted the ball I knew they had points in them and defensively we had to restrict them to much less than that."
Fiji reaction
Fiji skipper Wes Naiqama conceded the scintillating seven-tries-to-one performance exceeded his pre-match expectations.
"We've been preparing for this for the last six weeks and for it to all come together the way it did was a massive effort from the boys and a credit to the coaching staff," Naiqama said.
The captain is now looking forward to the game against Scotland when his side can seal their progression to the semi-final qualifier.
"There's no pressure on us, obviously the expectation is there for us to get up in the next game and it's important that we do for us to finish on top of this pool so we'll definitely take confidence out of this game," he said.
"So I'm rapt in the way the boys played and just looking forward to next game."
Coach Joe Dakuitoga was equally pleased with the victory, adding: "As I said yesterday, we're here to compete. We're not here to make up the numbers."
