All Blacks to rebound against Les Bleus

 
James Mortimer Roar Pro

By James Mortimer, 19 Jun 2009 James Mortimer is a Roar Pro

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Les Bleus will be looking to become just sixth team to win a Test series on New Zealand soil, and the first in the professional era, when a confident Tri Colours march on Wellington.

In fact, in the last 23 years, only Les Bleus have downed the All Blacks in a series, with the last team achieving this holy grail of rugby achievements being the Wallabies.

The first team to accomplish this was Phillip Nel’s and the late Danie Craven’s 1937 Springboks.

In 1949, the Wallabies under Trevor Allan and Colin Windon, won the series and became the first Australian team to wrestle the Bledisloe Cup off the All Blacks in New Zealand.

In 1971, arguably the greatest ever Lions team under John Dawes would also record a series triumph.

In 1986, during the “Cavalier tours,” the Wallabies would win a second series. And, of course, in 1994, Phillipe Saint Andre’s exalted Les Bleus team would achieve the unthinkable.

Marc Lievremont’s team stand on the precipice of history, not only claiming the series and knocking New Zealand off the top of the IRB rankings (they will drop to second) should they win, but completing what assistant coach Emile Ntamack describes as a test run for France’s assault on the 2011 World Cup.

The second match of the year, and already the All Blacks are under pressure. They are missing a host of front liners, who boast more tests than the actual starting XV itself.

But, to play devil’s advocate, that acquittal was used last week.

The injury curse struck again in Carisbrook, with Andrew Hore and Adam Thomson ruled out, but this was balanced by the return of two incumbents.

Looking at this Test XV, with 404 Test caps in the line-up (sans the bench), it is not only more experienced than the side that fell 22-27 to the French last week, but one that looks more balanced.

The inclusion of the classy Conrad Smith not only adds to the backline, but to the dreadlocked Ma’a Nonu inside of him. Otherwise the backline is unchanged, a pleasing vote of confidence to the players.

However, man for man, one feels that the French back division is easily the equal of the All Black three quarters.

The Stade Toulousain back three remain from last week. The Biarritz dreadnought Damien Traille caused immense problems for the All Black defensive patterns. Despite the hype, Mathieu Bastareaud had little impact last week and drops to the bench.

He is replaced by Perpignan’s Top 14 winning centre Maxime Mermoz, who offers far more tactical nous to the Les Bleus backline.

In the halves, Stephen Donald remains, with Highlanders captain Jimmy Cowan, who is perhaps lucky not to lose his place to the robust Piri Weepu, who added so much to the All Blacks with his injection last week.

Donald himself was outplayed by outstanding Montpellier number 10, Francois Trinh-Duc, last week, and will need to play the role of a backline general more, rather than forcing play too much on his own.

For mine, this is the second most crucial element – the first being the physical clash – of the game in Wellington.

In the forwards, the All Blacks have allegedly been terrorising each other in training, simulating the trench warfare in which they comprehensively lost in Dunedin, despite fielding a record 907kg pack.

Heralding the need to play a unearth a specialist open side to replace All Black kingpin Richie McCaw, Adam Thomson – a natural blind side – was played in the number seven spot last week, and was found wanting.

The All Blacks played three blindside flankers in the first Test, and it failed spectacularly. More so when considering rugby doctrine prescribes that two of the basic roles of a number six is to defend and to clear out the ruck.

Neither of these was achieved.

The selection of Te Puke born flank Tanerau Latimer sees the All Black paradigm of carrying a fetcher restored, and Jerome Kaino – the 2008 incumbent blindside – returns from injury, and hopefully the Blues flanker will add the necessary mongrel lacking from the first Test.

If anything, the key for New Zealand is to halt the influence of defensive maestro and Captain Thierry Dusautoir, whose brilliant guerrilla tactics, as in 2007, caused immense woe for the home side.

Kieran Read is moved to number eight, based on his statistics from the first Test, despite being a specialist blindside. He must combat Montpellier number eight Louis Picamoles, one of France’s best players last week.

The tight five on paper looks to favour New Zealand, but a few days ago it counted for nothing.

Perpignan prop Nicholas Mas replaces Sylvain Marconnet, who caused the All Black front row issues last week.

The only other change in the tight is at lock, with Sebastien Chabel starting.

No doubt his inclusion is indicative of the reality that the All Blacks were bullied last week – and Chabel ranks among world rugby’s elite enforcers.

Despite all this, there is no more horrifying rugby beast than a wounded All Black team.

The French will not catch New Zealand on the hop again and the All Blacks will prevail in Wellington by 8.

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