Laporte and his troops were expecting a tough clash against South Africa, who had taken their 30-30 draw on June 18 as a defeat and were seeking revenge, and it certainly
turned out that way.

''In rugby you always have to start from scratch,'' said Laporte.

It's not because you've played well once that you will repeat your performance the following week.

''We failed to be good enough at simple things and the South Africans were far more present physically than us,'' added the France coach.

''They put a lot of pressure on us during direct confrontations. They tired us tremendously while respecting the laws of the sport.''

Laporte, however, insists the summer tour was mainly to test new players ahead of the 2007 World Cup and, in that respect, he was satisfied.

''That type of event is good to see players,'' he added.

''For example, Pascal Pape is really emerging as a great player and Remy Martin was our best player on Saturday.

''Julien Bonnaire also had an impact and I am happy with the performances of Gregory Lamboley and Sebastien Bruno, who came on during the match.

Les Bleus summer travels will come to an end with a trip to Brisbane for a Test match with Australia on Saturday.