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France face All Blacks in 2007 Rugby World Cup repeat

11th October, 2015
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11th October, 2015
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France captain Thierry Dusautoir gets a chance to repeat his finest performance when they take on defending champions New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

The 33-year-old flanker put in a massive 38 tackles against the All Blacks at the same stage and the same Millennium Stadium venue in 2007 to help knock out the favourites 20-18.

As a comparison, New Zealand as a team only put in 36 tackles in a huge French defensive effort.

He also put in a man-of-the-match performance against the All Blacks in France’s courageous 8-7 loss in the 2011 final on their opponents home turf.

“Next week there is a big challenge waiting for us,” he said of the quarter-final after his side suffered their first defeat of the tournament, a 24-9 loss to Six Nations champions Ireland on Sunday to consign them to the runners-up spot in Pool D.

“But we are going to look at what was not 100 per cent today and go into the next match with a lot of appetite.”

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