Jo Maso (File)

Marcoussis - France manager Jo Maso believes a ninth Six Nations grand slam this weekend will provide an ideal launching pad for the team's 2011 World Cup campaign.

France, seeking their first grand slam since 2004, play England, the team who knocked them out of the last two World Cups, in the final match of the championship at the Stade de France.

"I have five grand slams to my name, one as a player in 1968 and four as team manager in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2004. I'm the record-holder in France maybe in the world, I don't know, but I don't really care," Maso told Reuters in an interview this week.

"If I wish so hard that France win a ninth one on Saturday it's not to bring my personal record to six. It's because it will be a perfect launch pad for the World Cup."

"It will ratify all the work done in two years by (coach) Marc (Lièvremont) and his assistants Emile (Ntamack) and Didier (Retiere). It will also give them time to carry on working without being under pressure for results. It will give confidence to the players, the young ones and the more experienced."

Maso said the current France team were in a situation similar to that of the 2002 side.

"Bernard (Laporte) had been appointed two years before the 1999 World Cup. The first two seasons had been difficult but we also had recorded great results like our wins over Australia and South Africa in November 2001," he said.

"During that time, Bernard was forced to reshuffle because of a series of injuries. He decided to test youngsters like Clement Poitrenaud, Damien Traille, Aurelien Rougerie, Dimitri Yachvili, Imanol Harinordoquy. He also called up Tony Marsh.

"The next season most of them took part in our grand slam campaign. It was Bernard's first trophy. It also was the first grand slam with six nations playing the championship.

"The team of the 2003 World Cup was born. It was a very good team. We should have won the World Cup, really, if it had not been for England and the rain...Never mind, it's history now."

France were the pacesetters in the early stages of the 2003 World Cup in Australia but came unstuck against eventual champions England in a rain-drenched semifinal.

"MARK ON HISTORY"

For Maso, the 2004 grand slam helped to avenge the disappointment of the World Cup.

"It was all the more sweet because we won the last game against England 24-21 after leading by 20 points at halftime."

Further down memory lane, Maso said the 1968 grand slam was his favourite and probably the most significant for French rugby as it was the first one and paved the way for future generations.

"You get your biggest emotions as a player because when you are a coach or a manager you don't cross the white line and at the end it's the players who have won the game," he said.

Maso, who was 23 at the time of the grand slam, was the personification of French flair either at centre or flyhalf.

However, some of the selectors disapproved of his long hair and he won only 25 caps although he prides himself on having been invited to play three times for the Barbarians and was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of fame in 2003.

Asked if he used his past to motivate today's players, Maso replied: "That would be silly because they are professional players and wouldn't understand our amateur world.

"When we went to Cardiff for our last game in 1968 we were without pressure. At the time, we hardly knew there was such a thing as a grand slam because France had never won it," he said.

"When we came back to Paris there was no fuss at all. Mind you our celebration were worthy of the feat. All the players who were single stayed in Paris for two days and we were treated by all the restaurant and bar owners who loved rugby."

The French manager said he had one lesson for the young players who have never won a grand slam such as Morgan Parra, Francois Trinh-Duc, Alexis Palisson and Marc Andreu.

"I told them they were about to go through one of the best time in their career and in their life because if they win they will leave their mark on French rugby history," he said. "I also told them to enjoy every minute and make sure they have no regrets."