Rugby World Cup hosts France have 'best generation ever' ready to avenge England pain

France will come to a standstill again this evening with all eyes turned to the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille. When Le XV de France plays these days, it is a national event.

A domestic TV audience of 15.5million tuned in to watch the World Cup hosts’ 27-13 victory over New Zealand last Friday with thousands more packed into the fan zones like the Rugby Village in Paris’ Place de la Concorde that have sprung up across the country.

Rugby is on everyone’s lips and images of the star players are everywhere. No matter that the opponents are Uruguay tonight, not the All Blacks and a largely shadow French side on show. Les Bleus have cast a spell and a nation is in thrall to them.

“We all think France will be world champions because we've had an extraordinary Test cycle over the last four years and we have a generation of players who allow us to dream,” said former France prop Sylvain Marconnet, who played in the 2003 World Cup semi-final against England.

“I don't think it's an insult to my team-mates to say that this generation is much better than ours. Here we have a group of players who are world-class in their positions. I'm thinking of Baille, Marchand, Alldritt, Dupont - who is certainly the best player in the world - and Jalibert who can finish the World Cup as the best player in the world.

“I can feel it; he has the potential. We also have players like Penaud and Ramos who are serial scorers. I think we're producing some legends of the sport.”

It is a love affair with the national team which had cooled with quarterfinal exits at the last two World Cups and the Six Nations an annual disappointment.

The French club game was the big show with its flood of foreign imports who were attractive names but acting as a collective roadblock.