After having lost at home to Argentina and New Zealand in the autumn Test matches, Laporte is now satisfied with the progress his players are making ahead of the 2007 World Cup on home soil.

Laporte had particular praise for younger members of the squad like Julien Laharrague, Yannick Nyanga, David Marty, Benoit Baby and Gregory Lamboley.

Many players have scored points during the 2005 Six Nations, the youngest came without any experience but managed to integrate very fast, said Laporte.

They understood the high expectations right from the start and we are going well in the preparation for the 2007 World Cup.

Laporte is already looking ahead to the global tournament and believes his side are making good progress.

This year's tournament has showed that we were on the right track, but now we must get onto the motorway, he added.

The World Cup is coming very fast, time is running out even though the road will be long, we are going to have to be precise and avoid mistakes.