Sean Fitzpatrick: Forwards set the direction for NZ rugby

It was hugely pleasing to watch the All Blacks play so well against France. I remember playing against Australia in the rain in 1996 and it was a similar kind of test match where everything we tried came off.

The one huge difference was that we were playing in Wellington. If you have not played in France, it is hard to appreciate how intimidating and difficult it can be. To win on French soil in such style was out of the top drawer.

It was so good to watch, right from the haka on. It was the best haka I have ever seen an All Black team perform. It was very impressive and very pleasing to be a New Zealander watching that kind of display.

They fronted up right from the start and had the kind of attitude we talked about last week - terrific stuff. They fronted up in the set pieces and were huge in the second phase area of the game - the commitment at the breakdown and the way they burst through the rucks was enormously pleasing.

Rodney So'oailo played well - I thought he really put his hand up and claimed the No 8 test spot. Tony Woodcock was outstanding. The selectors obviously got it right and he was just short of a gallop against Wales. I thought he had the kind of game where a player really arrives and discovers self-belief as an international. He was pitched into the All Blacks at quite a young age and got into a bit of trouble, but has now come back very strongly. With the emergence also of Saimone Taumoepeau, the problem areas of the front row don't seem to be such a problem any more.

The challenge for Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith is for the players to take the style the All Blacks displayed into the Super 12. They have to continue what they achieved against France, making sure teams in the competition learn the same lessons and adopt the same way of playing. That won't be easy, but it's the way forward.

From what I can see it's already happening. I went to see the All Blacks train on Wednesday and they were outstanding. They were fired up and trained at 100 miles an hour.

You can see that a lot of the guys who haven't played that much have taken their cue from what happened last weekend and are trying to hit the mark as well. It's a good sign for New Zealand rugby and we have to build on what has been established in the build-up to the Lions.

There has been a lot of interest in the Barbarians fixture because of what happened against France. Some people are a bit annoyed that it is taking place on Heineken Cup weekend, but I think it is a great opportunity for a lot of players to stand up, on both sides.

I do think there is a place in the professional era for the Barbarians and, if the game lives up to the previous weekend and even to the All Black training run I witnessed, it'll be great.

But even as we focus on this weekend, I'm still enjoying the memory of how the All Blacks played against France, the commitment and the style, and how in the space of one game the All Blacks became the leading side in the world, and made all the other contenders sit up and take note again.