Ashton defends 'good bloke' Regan

Match quotes:UGH. MON DIEU! What it is like to be in the bowels of Stade de France when the home team has lost to England. The bulldog savaging the French cock in front of the whole family is not the sort of spectacle that easily brings a smile to the face of coach Marc Lievremont.

The pain was writ large over his young, frowning face but Lievremont cut a defiant figure. He said: "My main feeling is disappointment, disappointed to have lost. It was a bit like the semi-final of the World Cup. But when playing such a pragmatic team as England, it is hard."

Few were sure if the word "pragmatic" in terms of describing rugby is, coming from a renaissance coach such as the Frenchman, as bad as cursing someone's mother. But on the gritty English hooker Mark Regan, Lievremont was in cracking form. Regan was repeatedly warned by referee Steve Walsh for slowing down play at lineouts and was involved in a number of scuffles.

"I did not appreciate the behaviour of the English hooker. His behaviour was unacceptable at times," said Lievremont solemnly. "He wasn't within the spirit of the game. I don't even want to remember his name. He took a minute at every lineout. He was ridiculous and grotesque, a clown really. We can be pragmatic and more realistic but when you have something like that going on..."

But England coach Brian Ashton drily defended Regan as a bloke's type of bloke. After a testy "no comment on what other coaches say," Ashton gave his frontrow a glowing review. "He's an outstanding player, a great hooker, a good scrapper in the nicest sense of the word and a good bloke who other players like playing with. I'm not sure he was responsible for everything that went on in the first half of the game (conceding penalties).

"We gave away about eight penalties in the first half. The discipline side of things is something we have to work out. We took him (Regan) off because he damaged his hand. I'm delighted we went in at half-time 13-7 ahead. We'd a few things to iron out. We weathered the second-half storm and worked our way back into the game. Then in the last five to 10 minutes, we got a firm grip on it. This French side, if you kick ball at them, they counter attack. I think we coped pretty well but I didn't want to give them what I call soft ball."

Lievremont was asked if the defeat will change the team's style. "It's a possibility," he said. "We always want to look at other players. If we do change it must not be seen as a punishment because that is not how we mean it to be."

But Jonny Wilkinson had encouraging words for the French. "They must continue in that direction," he said. "Playing that way, they can beat any team in the world. There's a lot we can learn from them."