France would not have forgotten the thrashing they received at the hands of the All Blacks in the World Cup quarterfinal last year. The French will now look for a bit of revenge as they host New Zealand in an autumn international at the State de France on Saturday.
New Zealand smashed France in the quarterfinals en route to winning the World Cup, running in nine tries in a 62-13 win. While the All Blacks have done this before and continue to do it to other teams as well, France will expect a better performance in front of their own crowd.
There will be extra motivation after France were beaten narrowly by Australia last week. "For those who lived through it, they keep the game to themselves because it was a game that marked a career," France coach Guy Noves said.
"Honestly when you play the All Blacks, whether you're seeking revenge or not... if you need to be seeking revenge to perform at this level, frankly that's bad news. The simple fact of putting on this jersey to represent France must be the driving element of our motivation."
New Zealand certainly used that revenge feeling to great use when they topped Ireland last weekend after going down to the same team in Chicago. With that win in the kitty, New Zealand will be in confident mood going into the France clash.
That is a dangerous proposition for France, and it goes without saying that they will need to be at their absolute best, while hoping the All Blacks are a little off colour in order to pick up a win.
New Zealand have made a few changes to their team, with the most interesting of all being at halfback with Aaron Smith benched for Waisake Naholo. Malakai Fekitoa and Sam Cane are also out through suspension and injury, with Matt Todd and Ryan Crotty coming in.
"When it came to selecting this side, we had to make some changes because of injuries, but we also looked to pick the best side possible for what we think will be a titanic battle against the French," All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said.
"It was a very physical match in Dublin on the weekend so we have looked to get this week's preparation spot-on, both mentally and physically, as we know France will also be looking to impose themselves upon us come Saturday night."
Where to Watch Live
France vs All Blacks is set to begin at 9pm CET (8pm GMT, 1.30am IST, 9am NZT next day). Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: No live coverage.
France: TV: France 2.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport 1. Live Sreaming: Sky Go NZ.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport 1. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
Australia: TV: Bein Sports.
UK: TV: Premier Sports.
