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Sebastien Chabal looks on during the French rugby team training run - Source: NZPA Images -
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France have upgraded their team and will run high on emotion when chasing a series clean sweep in the second rugby Test in Welllington on Saturday, according to All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith.
Maintaining his reputation as a selection tinkerer, French coach Marc Lievremont today found room for three new faces in his starting team who outplayed New Zealand 27-22 at Dunedin last Saturday, including two in an impressive tight five.
Renowned hard man Sebastien Chabal is at lock, packing behind
introduced prop Nicholas Mas, while two-test centre Maxime Mermoz
adds more speed and flair to a backline which defended stoutly but
failed to light up Carisbrook.
Backs expert Smith believes Perpignan whiz kid Mermoz had outplayed
the man he replaces, Mathieu Bastareaud of Stade Francais, in the
recent French club semifinal and will provide another dimension for
the tourists.
More importantly, France will bring with them confidence and
genuine motivation, something they have historically needed to play
at their best.
They can become just the sixth team to win a Test series on New
Zealand soil, following the 1937 Springboks, 1949 Wallabies, 1971
British Lions, 1986 Wallabies and 1994 French tourists.
"I think we'll be up against a really determined French team,
probably an emotional French team that want to try to repeat
history from '94," Smith said.
"For that reason alone they're going to be up there and bloody
difficult."
Veteran tighthead Sylvain Marconnet makes way for Mas but Smith
made particular note that Pascal Pape had been replaced by Chabal,
who charged around Wellington's Westpac Stadium with intent in a
losing cause two years ago, breaking the jaw of All Blacks lock Ali
Williams in the process.
"He's a high impact player, he makes his mark on the game," Smith
said.
A cult figure in Europe, Chabal was surrounded by New Zealand
journalists on Wednesday, partly because he is one of the few
fluent English speakers among the tourists.
The bearded 31-year-old expects a superior challenge from an All
Blacks forward pack which was strangely flat from kickoff at
Carisbrook.
"Normally the All Blacks are very aggressive and very physical but
maybe it was a bad day for them," he said.
"I think we were much more physical than them and then they started
to put their head down. I think that was the key to us
winning.
"When you have a win you have to be more confident but we know it
will be really difficult in Wellington. I think we will play well
because we have trained hard."
The All Blacks were originally scheduled to have a day off today
but instead organised an extra training session.
Smith said the morning hitout reflected a desire to squeeze as much
information as possible into the players in the early part of the
international season, as well as further pushing their own
boundaries.
"We're trying to raise the bar, trying to raise the intensity into
this week," he said.
"And normally this time of the year there's an understanding that
you can't get all of the work into them (players) overnight.
"The players are fine about it. Their lives are centred around
winning, they'll do anything."
Smith rejected a suggestion that turning around a poor All Blacks
first test performance was among the hardest challenges of his
coaching career.
He said he had faced stiffer tasks, with more at stake.
"How could it be more challenging than when we lost in Sydney last
year and everyone said we're going to get last in the Tri-Nations?
There's no comparison," he said.
"There have been a lot tougher times in my career but it's good.
I'm really enjoying it."
The satisfaction was moulding some of New Zealand's brightest
talents and getting them to gel as quickly as possible with
established All Blacks.
"A lot of them are going to be gems and it's our responsibility to
develop them."
France: Maxime Medard, Vincent Clerc, Maxime Mermoz, Damien Traille, Cedric Heymans, Francois Trinh-Duc, Julien Dupuy, Louis Picamoles, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Romain Millo-Chluski, Sebastien Chabal, Nicolas Mas, William Servat, Fabien Barcella.
Reserves: Dimitri Szarzewski, Thomas Domingo, Remy Martin, Damien Chouly, Dimitri Yachvili, Yannick Jauzion, Mathieu Bastareaud.
