All Blacks captain Ardie Savea has \u2018rubbished\u2019 the notion that France have named a weakened side for their encounter in Christchurch on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Head coach Fabien Galthie has once again been hamstrung by selection due to the unavailability of the Top 14 finalists for this game.<\/p>\n
Les Bleus<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The key forwards that are missing<\/p>\n 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<\/a> has backed the French depth to shine through.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s rubbish,\u201d he said after being asked about claims that it is a second-string team.<\/p>\n \u201cThe French are the French and you look at their depth and their competition; they\u2019ve got world-class players from one to 100.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what team they bring, the players they\u2019ve got now with Marko [Gazzotti] and Pierre [Bochaton] playing at Bordeaux, they\u2019ve had massive experience. Alongside Oscar [Jegou], their loose trio is outstanding. We understand that, but we\u2019re also looking forward to the challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of respect for them.\u201d<\/p>\n All Blacks v France prediction: Dave Rennie to begin reign with victory as rivalry that \u2018does not do ordinary\u2019 adds a fresh chapter in \u2018full noise\u2019 of new house<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n