All Blacks relishing the French fight

Thursday 26 November 2009
Published By: Ben Welch
International Rugby > New Zealand

It seems the All Blacks are in for a bruising encounter this weekend, as they are expecting the French to knock them around the field a bit.

Flanker Jerome Kaino has been recalled to the side, being preferred to Adam Thomson in what is clearly an attempt to beef up the pack.

Not that New Zealand need much beefing up, but compared to their matches with Wales and England, Saturday night's game is going to be like going 12 rounds with a Klitschko brother.

Both teams are unbeaten in the autumn internationals - with France having already knocked off Tri-Nations champions South Africa - and it seems the ghosts of Marseille 2000 may be haunting the Kiwis.

According to Kaino, assistant coach Wayne Smith has been warning the squad about the "ambush" that took place back then, mostly down to the fact that the tourists weren't prepared.

"We're going to be expecting the worst - and looking forward to it," said the confident loose forward.