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Auckland - France are playing it "too clean" at the breakdown in the Rugby World Cup and need to be more streetwise to slow down opposition ball, defence coach Dave Ellis said on Wednesday.
The French face Tonga in Wellington on Saturday needing a victory to ensure they progress to the quarter-finals from Pool A after losing their third group game 37-17 to the All Blacks last weekend.
Englishman Ellis described the defensive errors around the three tries in 11 minutes that the French conceded to the hosts as "disappointing" and said they needed to put a bit more pressure on their opponents in the tackle area.
"I think if you look at the tournament so far, the French team are the most disciplined in the World Cup," he told reporters at the team hotel in Takapuna.
"We mentioned this in the week, we're probably too clean. Other teams are leaving their hands in or pushing at the back of the ruck or doing things to slow down and we're not doing that, we're being a bit too clean.
"We've got to be a bit more streetwise and look at slowing the ball down so we can attack it afterwards."
Ellis, who has worked with the French for 12 years, said the pendulum had swung a bit too far from the days when 'Les Bleus' were renowned for their ill-discipline.
"Over the last decade, the French have been known as a team where if you wind them up, they respond," he added.
"They probably don't do that now, they've taken it to the other extreme, where they don't get wound up at all and they're probably too lax."
Tonga have lost two of their three matches so far but can still overhaul the French and finish runners-up in the pool behind New Zealand - a threat not lost on the French players.
"It's going to be a big match against some big players," said number eight Raphael Lakafia, who has returned to the starting line-up after missing the All Blacks game.
"We can feel the pressure now because we know we can lose our qualification this weekend."
Ellis said the Tonga match was the perfect opportunity for France, who stuttered at times in their wins over Japan and Canada, to show what they were capable of.
"They have to front up against Tonga and it's probably the ideal game for them to answer the critics with regards to the aggression of our defence and our line speed," said Ellis.
"I think what you'll see is that the big players will step up, particularly on the defensive side of the game. I think they'll come out and give the performance everybody has been waiting for."
The French camp have done much talking this week about not looking beyond the Tonga game to a potential last eight clash with England. Easier said than done, according to Lakafia.
"It's something that's in your head and you try and think of something else but it's still there," the 22-year-old conceded.
"I think I will think of it during the game. I just hope that we begin the game well and after forget it with time."
