Lièvremont relieved but bullish after defeat

France coach Marc Lièvremont has expressed his relief Les Bleus did not "disintegrate" in their defeat by New Zealand and insisted his team were still among the world's best.

The French lost 37-17 at Eden Park on Saturday night as the All Blacks stamped their authority all over their so-called Rugby World Cup nemesis.

The build-up to the most eagerly anticipated pool match of RWC 2011 was dominated by debate about the strength of Lièvremont's selection and after a bright start the French wilted.

Asked whether he had feared "a hammering" at the hands of the host nation, Lièvremont said: "Yes, I did consider that the players would crack at some stage. Especially when the second half started with that quick try."

The France coach said he felt "frustrated and angry" but was not discouraged "in the long run" and that his players' self-belief was intact.

"Like me, they are frustrated but they felt strong. They saw they could measure up to the All Blacks, especially in the second half when we could have feared some sort of disintegration after the try we conceded.

Strong Springboks

"But we held on, we followed the pace, and that is interesting."

Lièvremont believes defending champions South Africa are the strongest side in the tournament and pointed to the defeat of Tri Nations champions Australia by Ireland as an example of how quickly perceptions of strength could change.

"I think we are up there with the rest of them but we can't keep conceding points,"

Lièvremont said. "I will therefore keep insisting on my message, in a climate of trust."

The France coach was frank when speaking about the mistakes his team had made against New Zealand.

"There were some errors that I still can't explain. Overall, no player has completely failed doing his job.

"For example, we can give credit to Pascal Papé for having a good game, but the first error is his."

France's final Pool A match is against Tonga on Saturday and Lièvremont confirmed he would make changes after reflecting on Saturday's performance. He said he wanted to send out a team similar to the one he would select for the quarter-finals.