England still living in the ice age

England created an image of being the most forward-thinking rugby nation after the 2003 World Cup triumph because of Sir Clive Woodward's huge staff and attention to detail.

But a few flakes of snow and frost this week have exposed the reality that we are still a long way behind Six Nations rivals France in terms of state-of-the-art facilities.

While the cold weather forced Andy Robinson and his squad to call off their morning training at their Bagshot hotel yesterday and hunt around for a playable pitch, France's squad walked calmly onto an all-weather surface under a special roof at their training centre on the outskirts of Paris.

England have nothing to match the £30million National Rugby Centre in the quiet, suburban village of Marcoussis, 20 miles from Paris, where the French team prepare in perfect conditions for every international.

Yesterday's cold weather brought havoc to the motorways around the French capital, and the four pitches open to the elements at the centre were covered in snow.

But the French team simply made the 30-second walk from the residential building on the site to an all-weather surface which is in the open air but covered with a high roof.

The centre, which was finished three years ago, boasts a handful of pitches - two of them floodlit - a gym with bodybuilding equipment and medical facilities.

It also has a swimming pool with sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, a media centre and a library with an impressive database.

Woodward was said to be very impressed when he toured the facilities in November. Robinson would have given his right arm to have them available to his squad this week.

He would also see the benefits of the elevated wooden gangway which allows the players to walk directly from their bedrooms to the training ground, avoiding any contact with visitors or media.

The bedrooms, each individually painted in the colours of clubs who have won the French championship, permanently house the Under-18 squad who go to nearby schools and universities before joining their club sides for weekend matches.

The French Rugby Federation paid twothirds of the cost of the complex with the rest coming from state funding. It is now starting to break even as a business since it also hosts conferences. The only disadvantage is boredom. Marcoussis is hardly a buzzing place and there are no easy train links to the night life of Paris. But England could surely live with that if it meant 21st century facilities.

Yesterday they did manage to get on to their Bagshot pitch in the afternoon, but the cold weather upset the whole day's schedule and plans had to be put in place for a move to facilities at Reading.

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