France look to break 11 year hoodoo against All Blacks

It has been 11 long years since France last won against the mighty All Blacks – a sad drought of positivity by anyone’s reckoning. However, come the evening of 20 November, it is very possible that the sluices of victory will be reopened for Les Bleus, as the powerful unit which Fabien Galthie has diligently built over the years will attack Ian Foster’s vulnerable New Zealand outfit with a considerable arsenal.  

The teams have not locked horns in three years, the most recent clash occurring in Dunedin in 2018 when the All Blacks brought the hammer down on their opponents with a final score of 49-14. 

Turning to the situation in the current Autumn Nations Series, France have been cruising well, opening their campaign with a good, 29-20 win over Argentina before a comfortable, 41-15 result against Georgia last week: 

The All Blacks began the tournament with a bang, demolishing the USA 104-14 in an embarrassingly one-sided affair before the Italians then felt their wrath, 47-9. It was the most recent fixture, however, which has tongues wagging as Johnny Sexton and his Irish troops rolled their sleeves up and handed the All Blacks their second defeat of the season – the men in green putting on a truly thrilling and brilliant display: 

Perhaps the All Blacks had not been tested enough in the two games prior to the Irish showdown and were subsequently off the pace somewhat, but the result was guaranteed to have piqued the French interest and injected a substantial amount of extra confidence into their ranks.  

Something which may be of concern to Galthie & co. is a very possible backlash from the All Blacks, who are very seldom seen to lose two games in a row. 

Revered All Black forwards coach John Plumtree said the following this week: 

"We're in a new country, it's been a new country each week, but we've started the week positively,” he said.  

“There's been a real edge at training. 

"If the drivers don't get momentum, then they'll look to the air. We're hoping that doesn't happen this week. We've got to get our game going forward. 

"We're going back to some things we are good at that we went away from last week, and that's been our focus for the last couple of days. 

"We've identified the areas we need to improve on and we've got to fix those parts up so we can get our game going because when we get our game going we know what a good side we are. If we can do that we'll cause some big problems for them.” 

Plumtree’s words are indicative of a steely focus present in the All Black camp at present, a focus which will, in all likelihood, render them a difficult animal to control. France, however, will be equally menacing. 

The depth that Galthie has built in his squad is immense. So much so that he felt confident taking a second-string squad to Australia earlier this year, a squad which, despite its inexperience and youth, managed to push the Wallabies very close. Les Bleus are looking in great shape for the looming World Cup which will be contested on their shores, however, breaking the hoodoo which the All Blacks have held over them for the last 11 years will be vital to the French mindset. In short, they will be ravenous for victory and have selected a team which can inflict some serious damage with the likes of Paul Willemse and Gregory Alldritt up front and the magic duo of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack in the backs.  

All black boss Ian Foster has made several changes to the side which succumbed to the might of the Irish last weekend. 

“We’re really excited about this match, it’s a big statement game for us, and we know we have to respond from the Irish performance,” Foster said. 

“It’s been an incredibly long tour but I’ve been delighted with how the players have handled it from a physical point of view.  They’ve given us everything and I couldn’t be more proud of the way they've handled the length of this tour. 

“But we’ve had to manage the physical and mental load for the players, so have changed things up a bit for this final Test to maximise the energy within the whole group. That’s not a reflection on the guys that haven’t been selected, it’s more a chance to bring some fresh players in, and that’s going to be vital for us.” 

It's Willemse vs Whitelock, it's Alldritt vs Savea, Cane vs Jelonch, Alldritt vs Savea, Smith vs Dupont, Ntamack vs Barrett - a feast of an international rugby spectacle.