Preview, All Blacks v France

New Zealand will be looking to make an emphatic statement in the second of the Iveco Series Test matches against France in Wellington on Saturday and while France has promised stern resistance, it will face a tougher contest than in the first Test.

VENUE & TIME: Westpac Stadium, Wellington, Saturday June 9, 19.35 NZT.

HEAD TO HEAD: Played 44 – New Zealand 33, France 10, Draws 1.

LAST TIME: June 2, 2007 (Auckland) – New Zealand 42-11 France.

WALKING WOUNDED: All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has been troubled by a series of hip blows that forced him off the field during the first Test while Dan Carter is recovering from a slight ankle injury. McCaw didn’t run with the side during the early part of the week, however, both were confident of taking their place in the side. Mils Muliaina is still unable to take his place in the side due to a hamstring injury. French captain Pascal Pape was forced to leave the field last week but was able to take his place in the side for the second Test.

FORM: Five tries to one were hard to argue with for the All Blacks, but even they were tough in their assessment of their performance with coach Graham Henry giving it a pass mark. The scrum was impressive, and can only improve after one outing while the lineout also looked combative but with more room for improvement. Fluency was lacking in the backline, although by the end of the game the All Blacks were showing more of their tricks. France put in a determined showing, causing the All Blacks more concerns than they might have expected, but there was little decisive play and the challenge will be ahead of the tourists to lift themselves again.

WHO’S HOT: Wing Sitiveni Sivivatu showed genuine hunger in his quest to get his hands on the ball and was rewarded with two tries, while fellow wing Joe Rokocoko also looked sharp and will have benefited from an appearance at this level. Lock Ali Williams was in hunting mood and featured with some good runs with the ball and he will have an ally in Keith Robinson who has his chance after some commanding play in the Rebel Sport Super 14. Heading the French spirit is impressive No.8 Sebastien Chabal whose effort was the talking point of the first Test. But halfback Nicolas Durand proved more than a handful while first five-eighths Benjamin Boyet had a sound performance.

WE THINK: The news is not looking good for France. The All Blacks are notorious slow starts in any international season and that was the case in the first Test. Having put that behind them they have more improvement to make than the depleted French team looks capable of. A more dominating forward presence can be expected based on scrum power and a much more vigorous lineout approach would shut off the French hopes in this area. The backs will also have made plenty of notes about their rivals with the resultant upturn in cohesion making them more effective.

Sportal