That followed an opening day shock 23-18 loss in Italy, and France head to Twickenham in a fortnight looking to validate their status as pre-tournament favourites.

But Saint-Andre refused to blame the demands of the French Top 14 and Heineken Cup, despite his side’s poor performance so far in 2013.

“There should be no excuses,” said the former French international, whose side were unbeaten in the autumn internationals, including wins over Australia and Argentina.

“We are in a magical [Six Nations] competition. It is what you dream about being involved in as a player, and it is why I wanted to play rugby.

“The simple fact is that the Welsh were more reactive, more aggressive and they outnumbered us two to one when it came to tackling our player with the ball. They stopped us from liberating the ball, something we were very good at doing back in November.

“The calendar is due to be discussed in June by the league, the (French) federation and the players, and I hope everybody shoulders their responsibilities.”

France face a resurgent England team flying high after their first win in Dublin for a decade on Sunday. And while Saint-Andre has conceded France can no longer win the RBS 6 Nations 2013 championship, he insists Les Bleus still have something to play for.

“We can't win the title, but we can win respect,” he said. “We have to accept the Welsh came to Paris on an eight-game losing run and won, and we give them credit for that.”