But he won back his place in the last two games of the 2002 championship, in which France racked up the seventh Grand Slam.”The major progress made by this team is that we are now able to achieve consistency in our performances. In the past, opposing teams used to just wait and wait until we made a mistake or try and make us lose our cool to score points against us. But we are no longer making those mistakes, and we no longer lose our cool. We are not quite as good a team as England yet, but we have definitely taken our game to a higher level, and I believe that we haven’t yet reached our full potential.”Speaking at the Tricolores’ new state of the art training centre at Marcoussis, south of Paris – where international diplomats recently hammered out a shaky peace agreement for Ivory Coast – Pelous would not be drawn into the sort of jingoism and verbal jousting that was triggered last week by the anti-English outburst from his team-mate Imanol Harinordoquy. The hot-headed young Basque, who burst into the French side in last year’s championship, has quickly earned a reputation as someone who shoots from the lip. But as one of the team’s elder statesmen, the 29-year-old Pelous has no intention of taking Harinordoquy to one side and asking him politely to put a sock in it.”For me, it’s a matter of principle. Freedom of speech is sacred, and if Imanol said those things, it’s because that’s what he thinks,” Pelous said.

“Personally I don’t share his point of view: I think both teams are now at the point where we are more concerned with achieving excellence on the field than with stirring up any ill-feeling in the press beforehand.”As a half-forgotten memory seems to flash before his eyes, he adds: “Mind you, in the past the English were rather skilful at exploiting that very avenue to wind us up, and the fact that this time it is a Frenchman who has opened the hostilities is a rather nice touch. The difference is that these days, even if the English reply in kind, we feel much stronger in our minds We can no longer be wound up the way we were in the past. They can provoke us all they like, but we have changed, and we no longer lose our cool “. Steaming teapots, homemade cakes and lashings of scones with clotted cream; the delights of Devon tea rooms

The Gallery Caf?Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey (01626 832223)
Craft centres and carrot cake are as inseparable as hikers and walking boots.

The Devon Guild of Craftsmen’s gallery and caf?s the best in the area. The caf? clean-lined, not lacy, the ceramics and glass are contemporary, not lumpy, and the cakes are exemplary. Or sit outside in a mill building’s courtyard for cream tea, ginger cake, rocky road, lemon tart and meringues, with the likes of pork and Luscombe cider stew for lunch. The Georgian Tea Rooms, Broadway House, 35 High Street, Topsham, near Exeter (01392 873465)Busy, busy, busy. The wallpaper, the website, the tea rooms – there’s a lot going on in the handsome 18th-century guest house. Not least the teas, elevated to an artform, for, as says, cream teas are a big thing in Devon. Scones come warm from the oven, with clotted cream and home-made jam, all on flowery china, brought by girls in pinnies.Roger’s Tearoom, 49 Waterside, Haven Road, Exeter (01392 433313)Down on Exeter quay, Roger’s goes overboard on traditional teas Five types of scone alone include apple, date or cheese.

And if the cream tea isn’t an adequate sufficiency, how about poached eggs on toast, and lemon drizzle cake, hazelnut meringue, or lemon curd roulade? Teas leaves are loose but the protocol of afternoon indulgence is strictly observed How tea used to be. But probably better.Studio Teashop, Kingsbridge Lane, Ashburton (01364 653258) Miss Marple would be right at home, say the new owners (as of January) of the 15th-century woollen mill tearoom. A little light sleuthing – clues include displays of local artists’ work and the tea room’s name – reveals this was once an artist’s studio. Deduce too, from the wafting smells, that cakes are baked in the kitchen. As are scones, and heartier specials like spiced beef chilli and pepper, leek and chickpea crumble Tea bags? Not on your nelly.. WHEN I want solitude, I hike up to Dartmoor.