THERE HAS NEVER been a better time for the All Blacks to put their World Cup bogey behind them — let’s face it, if they can’t do it now, they never will.
It was 24 years ago that the men from the Land of the Long White Cloud won the inaugural World Cup, also hosted on home soil. By a bizarre twist of fate, they also faced the same opponents in the 1987 final: France.
The All Blacks won the final that day and it was the only time so far that they hoisted the William Webb Ellis Trophy in victory. In the interim, there was one team that prevented them from reaching the final in more than one World Cup tournament: France.
Photo: AFP
Tomorrow’s final will be played in New Zealand’s capital, Auckland, at All Black fortress Eden Park, which will no doubt be packed to the rafters with rabid New Zealand supporters. The last time the All Blacks lost at Eden Park it was as a result of a late piece of flair that became known in rugby lore as “the try from the end of the world,” scored by Jean-Luc Sardourny, the fullback of France.
New Zealand have consistently been the best team the rugby world has ever seen, give or take a few years when either South Africa, Australia or England were at the top of the world rankings. No other nation has come close in producing almost flawless — almost mechanical, some may mutter — rugby season in, season out.
However, it is a proven fact that there is one nation that possesses the ability to lift themselves up from relative obscurity to beat the feared All Blacks: France.
Les Bleus are the underdogs going into the final tomorrow — they are relaxed and out of the limelight, which makes them a dangerous prospect. It would therefore be premature for Kiwi supporters to start any victory parties before the final whistle has sounded at Eden Park tomorrow — although nobody could really hold it against them if they did.
The statistics are spine-chilling if you are a France supporter:
‧ The All Blacks have been the best team in the world for the past four years and the best team at this year’s tournament.
‧ In 12 World Cup matches on home soil, and this includes the 1987 tournament, the All Blacks have won every single one.
‧ Their smallest winning margin has been 14 points, which came in last week’s semi-final against Australia, which they won 20-6 in an awesome display of forward power and slick backline finishing.
‧ They have the best players in most key positions, they are on home soil and they have form and confidence.
France cannot tick any of those boxes and yet, as the biggest game in New Zealand’s rugby history draws nearer, more doubt appears to be creeping in on the home team.
“They can’t lose to France, surely?” is the question most asked on the streets of Auckland, according to newshounds reporting on the rugby spectacular in New Zealand.
The answer, they say, has become a cautious: “Of course not, but...”
After all, their Gallic opponents are skilled in preying on the All Blacks’ fragile psyche at important World Cup games.
In the 1999 tournament France rallied from 24-10 down to beat the All Blacks 43-31 in the semi-final and, in a quarter-final four years ago, they overturned a 13-3 halftime deficit to beat the All Blacks in Cardiff, Wales.
There is a strong feeling in the French camp that they have one massive performance in them. Only a fool would bet against them producing the goods against New Zealand in the final.
In 2007, on home soil, France lost to Argentina in the pool phase, but produced a rearguard effort to topple the All Blacks 20-18 in that sensational quarter-final.
The memories of that match are fresh in the minds of both camps.
However, if there is one element (and there are more) for New Zealanders to cling to, it’s the way the All Blacks dispatched the Wallabies in the semi-final when they were under similar pressure.
Richie McCaw’s men simply swept Australia aside on the back of a powerhouse forward effort. They displayed no nerves and had the Wallabies under pressure from the time the whistle went for the kickoff.
Although the strong French tight five should give the All Blacks stiffer competition, the home team probably would still have enough ball up front to bring their powerful backs into the line at crucial times.
Line breaks have become key to the modern game and no team breaks the first line of defense as ruthlessly as the All Blacks.
France have some excellent players, but after their up-and-down recent performances they seemingly have little chance of finding the elixir to topple the mighty All Blacks.
If they stay in touch on the scoreboard as the game enters the final minutes, anything can happen, as France have shown so often before. And if they can produce the type of game they exhibited in the first half of their 19-12 win over England in the quarter-finals two weekends ago, they might well be the ones drinking French champagne from The Bill for the first time.
In another bizarre twist of fate, the same two teams that competed in the third-place decider of the 1987 World Cup edition did so again yesterday: Australia and Wales. In 1987 Wales were the victors, but yesterday Australia changed that around and won the bronze final 21-18 in a bruising encounter.
The All Blacks have not been put under pressure at this World Cup yet and if France can do so and pull off a seemingly unlikely win, it would be a fitting finale to a tournament that never really picked up speed and produced very little in the way of true rugby excitement.
Who knows, France might also just turn the 1987 result around tomorrow and upset the favorites like only they can. Time will tell.
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