All Blacks captain Ardie Savea has ‘rubbished’ the notion that France have named a weakened side for their encounter in Christchurch on Saturday.
Head coach Fabien Galthie has once again been hamstrung by selection due to the unavailability of the Top 14 finalists for this game.
Les Bleus also decided to rest Bordeaux-Begles superstar Louis Bielle-Biarrey after a long and arduous campaign, but they have been able to select plenty from the back-to-back Champions Cup winners.
It is a much stronger side than the one that visited New Zealand last year, with the likes of Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert and Yoram Moefana giving the backline a good spine.
The key forwards that are missing
They are slightly weaker up front due to the lack of the Toulouse cohort, with the likes of Peato Mauvaka and Emmanuel Meafou not involved, but Savea has backed the French depth to shine through.
“I think it’s rubbish,” he said after being asked about claims that it is a second-string team.
“The French are the French and you look at their depth and their competition; they’ve got world-class players from one to 100.
“It doesn’t matter what team they bring, the players they’ve got now with Marko [Gazzotti] and Pierre [Bochaton] playing at Bordeaux, they’ve had massive experience. Alongside Oscar [Jegou], their loose trio is outstanding. We understand that, but we’re also looking forward to the challenge.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for them.”
Galthie has stacked his team with Bordeaux stars after having a disappointing domestic campaign which saw them stunningly miss out on the Top 14 play-offs.
They did, however, win Europe’s top prize once again after hammering Leinster in the final; those individuals will be key if they are to stun the All Blacks in Christchurch.
“They’ve got Bordeaux players and the way they play, they’re champions over there. They’ve got big forwards, they can play, they’ve got backs that can attack from anywhere and punish you,” Savea said.
“A lot of the focus has been on us but also understanding the threats that they bring.”
How All Blacks react to new head coach
France will also look to take advantage of the All Blacks’ tendency to start the Test season slowly. With a new head coach also in situ in the form of Dave Rennie, Les Bleus sense an opportunity to claim a rare win in New Zealand.
Rennie has taken over following NZ Rugby’s decision to axe Scott Robertson, and he has been tasked with breathing life into an ailing side.
The head coach wants to bring positivity back to the All Blacks after Robertson was panned for being too conservative with his selection and game style.
“He (Rennie) wants us to play with optimism but also with a bit of brutality and he’s big on effort. For us, those are the rock-solid foundations that we need to go out there and perform,” Savea said.
In one of the new All Blacks boss’ first big moves, he has decided to select the in-form Hurricanes fly-half over Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett, and Savea had high praise for the playmaker.
“There’s something special about that boy; he doesn’t need any help. I go to him, ‘you sweet?’ And he says: ‘I’m good’. You just leave space for those boys to do their thing,” he added.
READ MORE: Dave Rennie opens up on his All Blacks ‘mindset’ after criticism of Scott Robertson’s conservatism