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New Zealand will face their toughest test of the World Cup so far when they take on France at Eden Park on Saturday.
The game should be a tense affair, made all the more intriguing by the team selected by France head coach Marc Lievremont.
Ireland’s win over Australia last week threw the cat amongst the pigeons, meaning all three Southern Hemisphere teams will go into the same half of the draw if results go as expected once the pool stages are finished.
That means that if France were to lose to the All Blacks that would hand them an easier route to the final than if they were to win and top Pool A.
Although packed with experienced Internationals, local media have reacted angrily to the team selection and believe France are attempting to engineer their way through to the final without meeting one of the three Southern Hemisphere favourites.
The debate centres around scrum half Morgan Parra being selected to play at the fly-half, a role he filled for over 30 minutes against Canada but by no means his most comfortable position.
New Zealand have named a strong line-up, with Dan Carter and Richie McCaw returning to the side having sat out the comfortable win against Japan with minor knocks.
Despite the furore that surrounds the team-selection, France have a history of upsetting the odds against the All Blacks and will be confident of doing so once more.
New Zealand may have beaten Les Blues to win their first and only World Cup in 1987, but since then it’s been a totally different story, with France shocking the world with two wins in the knockout stages of Rugby’s biggest tournament.
As usual with the World Cup, the All Blacks came into the 1999 tournament as overwhelming favourites to win their second crown, and looked to be on course to make the final as they held a 24-10 lead early in the second half, only for the men in blue to spring one of the greatest upsets in rugby history, roaring back to claim a 43-31 win.
The settings were different in 2007 but the outcome remained the same as New Zealand’s reputation as chokers at the World Cup hardened, with France claiming a controversial 20-18 quarter final win after a forward pass for Yannick Jauzion’s match-winning try was missed.
New Zealand did at least pick up a win in the 2003 World Cup group stages meaning they go into this weekend’s tie with two World Cup wins apiece, but the All Blacks have learned to be fearful of the French’s unpredictability.
Match winner
The old saying with French rugby decrees that it is impossible to judge which side will turn up – the one that can baffle and delight with its free-flowing rugby or the tetchy nervous side that are a shadow of their glorious best.
That is more true than ever when they are playing the All Blacks, but while meetings between these two are always interesting, the fact that it is a pool stage match takes the edge off the game with both sides knowing they can still qualify even if they lose.
Ladbrokes are offering 1.10 (1/10) on the All Blacks winning the game while with SportingBet you can back France at 11.00 (10/1). The All Blacks are a different animal in the group stages when not overcome by fear in the knockout stages, and have never lost a game in this section of the tournament so don’t expect them to start doing so now.
Anytime Try Scorer
Both teams have a wonderful array of attacking talent to call upon in the backs so there should be plenty of tries on offer. Sonny Bill Williams has already proved himself to be one of the brightest stars at the tournament and has two tries under his belt already. The Crusaders centre is 2.50 ( 6/4) with Coral to make it onto the scoresheet and is worth backing to score.
Both Vincent Clerc and Richard Tahui lead the way having scored four tries each so far in just two games, and can be backed at 5.50 (9/2) and 2.10 (11/10) with SkyBet and Ladbrokes.
Recommended bets
Vincent Clerc, anytime try scorer: 9/2 with SkyBet
Conrad Smith to score first: 11/1 with BoyleSports
