Pascal Papé refused to hold back as France’s autumn took a turn for the worst after they suffered a surprise defeat to Argentina on Saturday.
Les Bleus were buoyant following victories over Fiji and Australia this month, helping put the pain of a disappointing 2014 RBS 6 Nations behind them.
However this mini-run of victories was halted by Argentina as the Pumas ran out 18-13 winners at Stade de France in Paris.
It was a slow start that cost France dearly as the hosts found themselves 15-0 behind after half an hour, and veteran lock Papé admitted Les Bleus simply weren’t good enough.
“I’m mostly disappointed because it was the scenario that expected. We had to drag that first half-hour through the rest of the match against opportunistic Argentines, who were super efficient,” the frustrated former skipper told Rugbyrama.
“With our experience, Thierry (Dusautoir) and I felt a drop in intensity after last week’s good game.
“What annoys me is that it’s the same every time. This is a French affliction. It’s really starting to annoy me.
“Even when the group was warned, we were nowhere early in the game. It’s infuriating.
“We didn’t pitch up. We were going backwards in contact and weren’t in place defensively.
“We had the opportunity to validate the evolution in this team and we do not. Despite this, and what is so frustrating, is that we could have won. But again, for 30 minutes, we didn’t pitch up. We didn’t deserve to win.”
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