All Blacks: We won't put All Blacks on pedestal, says Lievremont

France hasn't stopped celebrating its win over the All Blacks in June.

The French team has used that first win on New Zealand soil in 15 years - 27-22 in Dunedin - to bolster the belief they are back on the road to respectability, and it could face down the Southern Hemisphere rugby powers. Two weeks ago, the French cited the victory as inspiration before playing South Africa, and duly outmuscled the Tri-Nations champion 20-13 in Toulouse.

Armed with another impressive win, 43-5 against Samoa last weekend, French confidence is high and charged about ending a nine-year drought at home against the All Blacks on Saturday.

They're even back at the venue of that last home win in 2000, the intimate Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

"I hope all the players realise what's at stake," said France coach Marc Lievremont.

The wins over Samoa and world champions South Africa have sharpened the ambitions of Lievremont and his squad. Beating the All Blacks, who recently regained the No1 spot in the IRB rankings, tomorrow would cap a successful year.

"To win that game would really be splendid, huge," Lievremont said yesterday at the French team's training camp in Marcoussis.

"To end this tour unbeaten after defeating twice the No1 team in the world - South Africa first and then New Zealand who had just recovered top spot - would be an exceptional feat for our young team. I think we can do it," he added.

Lievremont said he had told his players to go into the game with all due respect for the All Blacks but not to "watch them play and place them on a pedestal".

"They have proven through their wins over Wales, Italy and England they are again the best team in the world and they have recovered their ambitions and their game after the return of captain Richie McCaw and playmaker Dan Carter," he said. "We cannot rely on the surprise factor which helped us in Dunedin [in June].

"They will field a different and more coherent team and they have seen what we did to the Springboks but I hope we will be able to compete with them."

Though 11 of the France lineup which won at Carisbrook are starters again, none believe victory will be as convincing as it was five months ago. That's because the All Blacks are at full-strength, and have back influential captain Richie McCaw and first five-eighths Dan Carter, who missed that drawn June series with injuries.

The All Blacks have beaten Australia, Wales, Italy and England on successive Saturdays and gone through Europe with a clean tryline, though without the fear they induced on their Grand Slam tour of the Home Unions a year ago.

"They are a complete team once more. Their squad is full of confidence," Lievremont said.

"We still feel like we can compete. We will put in an outstanding game against them."

- AGENCIES