All Black Ardie Savea attempts to charge down a kick from France's Antoine Dupont. Rugby World Cup France 2023. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
All Blacks v France
Kick-off: 9.10am Sunday 17 November
Stade de France, Paris
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
It's tempting to think this is the final real challenge for the All Black season - they have a game against Italy next weekend - but this one has been ringed on the calendar for a while now. Fair to say the confidence around taking on France in Paris is feeling a lot higher than it probably was during the Rugby Championship, off the back of two very satisfying wins over England and Ireland.
Scott Robertson has had his hand forced on a few selections this weekend, with a couple more judgement calls, so it speaks to the squad management on this tour that this side is still packed with firepower. Meanwhile, the French have had a bit of drama during the week but it hasn't stopped Fabian Galthié naming a strong side to take the field in front of 80,000 at Stade de France.
One early advantage to the French has already been confirmed: the All Blacks will be in white jerseys, as the home side's strip is dark blue.
All Black Head Coach Scott Robertson. Photo: Chloe Knott/ActionPress
Here's how the teams are looking:
France: 1. Jean. Baptiste Gros 2. Peato Mauvaka 3. Tevita Tatafu 4. Thibaud Flament 5. Emmanuel Meafou 6. Paul Boudehent 7. Alexandre Roumat 8. Gregory Alldritt 9. Antoine Dupont (c) 10. Thomas Ramos 11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey 12. Yoram Moefana 13. Gael Fickou 14. Gabin Villiere 15. Romain Buros
Bench: 16. Julien Marchand 17. Reda Wardi 18. George-Henri Colombe 19. Romain Taofifenua 20. Mickael Guillard 21. Charles Ollivon 22. Nolann Le Garrec 23. Emilien Gailleton
All Blacks: 1. Tamaiti Williams 2. Codie Taylor 3. Tyrel Lomax 4. Scott Barrett (c) 5. Tupou Vaa'I 6. Samipeni Finau 7. Ardie Savea 8. Wallace Sititi 9. Cam Roigard 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 12. Jordie Barrett 13. Rieko Ioane 14. Sevu Reece 15. Will Jordan
Bench: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18. Pasilio Tosi 19. Patrick Tuipulotu 20. Peter Lakai 21. Cortez Ratima 22. Anton Lienert-Brown 23. Damian McKenzie
All Blacks selections
Robertson has gone straight back to Beauden Barrett after his concussion stand down, despite Damian McKenzie putting in a man of the match performance last weekend against Ireland. Codie Taylor comes back into the starting side too, while Cam Roigard is rewarded for a strong performance in Dublin. Sevu Reece gets a start on the wing, but the main intrigue is in the loose forwards where Ardie Savea shifts to openside. Wallace Sititi is at number eight, Samipeni Finau on the blind and rookie Peter Lakai backing up on the bench - it's a very strong unit on paper but will it gel cohesively?
Ardie Savea. Photo: Chloe Knott/Actionpress
France selections
Don't feel bad if a few of those names are unfamiliar to you. The French Top 14 competition is not broadcast in New Zealand, so the likes of Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Romain Buros are new. One thing that should be noted is that Galthié is gambling with a six forward/two back bench that could backfire if they suffer early injuries/cards. Matthieu Jalibert this week walked out of the team after he was told he'd be benched for this test, which means there is no specialist first five cover.
France’s Antoine Dupont. Photo: photosport
What they're saying
"It was very tough, it's a great discussion to have when you have two 10s in-form that are both great tacticians and kicking well. The one thing about McKenzie is that he's probably the best off-the-bench player in the world as when he comes on he can change the game, it's just recently he's been doing it as a starter. It's a good discussion and selection headache to have." - All Black coach Scott Robertson.
"They're capable of responding of every type of rugby. They're very good at set-piece, the battle up-front, at the breakdown, in the air. They still have the same speed in their backs and their back-row movement. It's been a while since we've played this standard of All Blacks." - France coach Fabien Galthié.
France Head Coach Fabien Galthie Photo: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
The last time they met
France 27 - 13 All Blacks
The opening match of the World Cup went the way of the hosts in dominant fashion, in front of a capacity crowd at Stade de France on a balmy evening in Paris. Despite an early try to Mark Tele'a, the All Blacks couldn't match the French intensity and accuracy at the breakdown, conceding too much field position and kickable opportunities. Plenty has happened between now and then, with the All Blacks' discipline in the last couple of test wins being very good.
What's going to happen
The All Blacks come in with plenty of momentum, whereas France have just had the one warm up game against Japan last weekend that they won easily. The Jalibert situation may prove to be nothing more than a typically French bit of needless drama, because there is plenty of talent in their side to make up for it. A lot will fall on Antoine Dupont's shoulders, so if the All Blacks can put him under enough pressure to at least revert to simply being a distributor, that's half the battle won. The All Blacks are out for redemption in Paris, this is where they lost last year's World Cup final and have dropped their last two tests to France there.
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