Talking Points | infonews.co.nz New Zealand News

When New Zealand meet France at Eden Park on Sunday night they will be overwhelming favourites to repeat their victory over Les Bleus in the inaugural Rugby World Cup Final on the same ground back in 1987. With controlled, balanced performances in their knockout matches, the All Blacks appear on course to end their 24-year wait for another RWC title, while France have had to rely on sound tactical plans as well as a touch of fortune to carry them into their third RWC Final. The pundits have almost completely written off France's chances of a first world title, but stung by the memories of painful defeats from previous RWCs, the All Blacks are - sensibly - not quite so blasé. "I don't care what you think of how the French have played in the last few weeks," said second row Ali Williams, who carries first-hand experience from the All Blacks' shock 20-18 quarter-final defeat by France at RWC 2007. "They'll be a completely different side. They'll be a team possessed and if we're not at that level or better we'll walk away with nothing." RWC 2007 also provided a precedent for teams meeting in the pool stages then reacquainting themselves in the Final. After their 36-0 pool defeat of England, South Africa met a much more formidable opponent in the Final, winning the match 15-6, a 27-point improvement in the deficit for England despite their loss. Important lesson The pressure that comes with the Final suggests that the score on Sunday could be a lot closer than New Zealand's clinical 37-17 victory over France in the pool stage. That 24 September match also provided a very important lesson for France in terms of what is needed to beat the All Blacks. France took the kick-off and dominated the opening stages of the encounter. After seven and a half minutes, France had 67 per cent of possession and 88 per cent of territory, and both Morgan Parra - starting his first RWC 2011 match in the fly half position - and centre Maxime Mermoz broke New Zealand's line through Ma'a Nonu's channel to set up attacks. But the closest France came to troubling the scoreboard was a drop goal attempt from Parra that hit the upright. To underscore the importance of making opportunities count, the All Blacks scored in the 10th minute with their first meaningful attacking possession in the France half. Running on to a Dan Carter pass, Nonu the attacker stepped off his left foot to create a gap and go between Julien Bonnaire and Louis Picamoles on France's 10-metre line, stepped off his right to go around full back Damien Traille and into the France 22 before being pulled down by Vincent Clerc and Dimitri Yachvili. Three swift passes later and Adam Thomson scored the match's first points in the left corner. Good start Thereafter, New Zealand really made France pay, as the game statistics at the half-hour mark illustrate. While possession and territory were slightly in favour of France, Les Bleus had spent five minutes and 42 seconds in New Zealand's 22 while the All Blacks had spent just 53 seconds in France's, Yet the score was 19-0 to New Zealand. If a chance came, they took it. The All Blacks also made the most of a good start in their 20-6 semi-final win over Australia, and France know they simply cannot afford to let the All Blacks get on top. "We need to put them under pressure and we can't let them take control," said key back row Bonnaire. France's 9-8 semi-final win over Wales was achieved with a combination of superb all-round kicking, suffocating defence and the ability to dominate and/or disrupt the set piece, and it is with a combination of these things that South Africa have found success against the All Blacks since RWC 2007, winning five of 11 matches between the teams. Despite widespread criticism from almost all quarters about France's style of play, head coach Marc Lièvremont is happy to repeat the formula if it means Les Bleus lifting the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time. "If we have to win this match as we played against Wales, then we will do so," said the often-criticised coach. Key factor Tactical kicking from hand was a key factor in France's 19-12 quarter-final victory over England, with Yachvili's box kicks keeping the English at arm's length while the French built up a 16-0 lead. Against Wales, getting the ball off the field into touch was more important and in both matches the place kicks were almost faultless. Yachvili and Parra are two of the tournament's most accurate kickers, and France's 85 per cent success rate for penalties was the best among the eight RWC quarter-finalists. France's tackle counts have averaged more than 100 per match during RWC 2011, and the 126 they produced to keep Wales at bay in their semi-final was their highest total for the campaign. Captain Thierry Dusautoir led by example, making 22, with back-row colleague Imanol Harinordoquy close behind him with 20. "I think they've been outstanding," said All Blacks' number 8 Kieran Read, recognising the efforts of France's back-row forwards. "They've been defensively very strong and their strength is their dominant tackle so we've just got to be wary of that." Dusautoir also has crucial first-hand experience of the RWC 2007 quarter-final when the All Blacks, seemingly keen on keeping the ball out of mercurial French hands, opted to play tight, dominating possession and met a wall of French defence. Purely psychological As well as scoring France's first try of that match, Dusautoir was the inspiration behind a phenomenal defensive performance that saw Les Bleus make 178 tackles compared to the 36 of New Zealand - almost five times as many. Scrums and lineouts will also play a crucial role, and although France failed to trouble New Zealand against the possession in either department during their pool defeat, they specifically used their varied lineout options - Lionel Nallet, Harinordoquy and Bonnaire - with great effect to disrupt Wales in the second half of their semi-final, stealing or spoiling almost a quarter of opposition ball. France's other major weapon against the All Blacks is purely psychological. It took 16 matches and more than 70 years after their first Test meeting in 1906 for France to register a win in New Zealand, and even though the All Blacks enjoy a 74 per cent overall winning record in Tests against Les Bleus, they have long harboured a fear of Gallic unpredictability. Dominant teams always remember surprise defeats much more starkly than glorious victories, and in terms of the RWC the scars of failure run deep, as Les Bleus have knocked out the All Blacks on two of the five occasions New Zealand have fallen short since winning that inaugural title in 1987. Laid to rest Even that advantage could be disappearing, however. Australia are the only other team to have held such a psychological edge over the All Blacks in terms of RWC defeats, and that particular ghost was laid to rest in emphatic fashion in the semi-final, a New Zealand performance Lièvremont described as "exceptional". New Zealand have not lost a Test match at Eden Park in the professional era, but France just happen to be the last team to deny them victory there, a 23-20 loss all the way back in July 1994 that France backs coach Emile Ntamack will only be too happy to recall, having crossed for his only score against New Zealand in an overall tally of 26 international tries. Bonnaire accepts that the challenge is a tough one, but no team have played in three RWC finals without claiming a title and he feels France's odds of victory are increased by the fact they will take the field at Eden Park as underdogs who have nothing to lose. "We should not be afraid of winning," said the Clermont Auvergne flanker. "We have great qualities ourselves."