All Blacks: Quarter-final in Cardiff holds no fear

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and team-mate Carl Hayman during the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final between New Zealand and France at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. France won the match

One possibility will loom large over pool play at the World Cup and engender an unwanted case of deja vu among Kiwi fans.

But for the All Blacks, a potential quarter-final in Cardiff against France holds no fear.

Millennium Stadium, of course, was the venue for one of the team's darkest days on the brightest stage in rugby, the scene of a stunning upset in the last eight of the 2007 tournament.

The defeat saw the highly-rated All Blacks, having cruised through the group stages, crash out of contention against an unfancied France, fresh off an underwhelming second-place finish in their pool.

It saw the All Blacks' apparent World Cup 'curse' continue for another four years and, now, will see some supporters anxious and unnerved as the quarter-finals creep near.

But even if Steve Hansen's side are handed a rematch - an eventuality that will need Ireland to consign France to second in pool D - the All Blacks will barely blink twice. They have learned the lessons of the failed 2007 campaign, Hansen vowed, and are ready to exorcise any eight-year-old demons.

"The first thing is we can't fear that," Hansen replied when quizzed about a French quarter-final. "There's going to be a lot of anxiety from the public about that, but it will be what it will be. If we're good enough to get in the quarter-final, and whoever we play, we have to deal with that."

While the talk is allied with the All Blacks' oft-stated four-plus-one plan when preparing for the tournament's opening stages, singling out a potential opponent is perhaps a slight departure from script.

That, though, is a reflection of the importance of the 2007 defeat, both in laying the groundwork for a breakthrough victory four years later and devising the blueprint for the imminent attempted defence.

The favourites tag and top spot in the world rankings is nothing new for the All Blacks heading into a World Cup. But the question that could determine the fate of this year's team - the reason one side fell to the French and the other never endured such misfortune - was whether they could toe the fine line between confidence and arrogance.

"The catch-cry of 2011 was expect the unexpected - I don't think we did that in 2007," said Hansen, an assistant coach in both campaigns. "I think we rocked up a little arrogant [in 2007] and, like previous All Black teams over the years, may have been too comfortable - having been the No1 side for a long time - and just expected it to happen.

"The funny thing about the World Cup is you know everyone's intensity is going to go up through the roof, because everyone wants to win it. So you can't just expect it - you've got to go and earn the right to win it.

"We've understood that that was a mistake and it's one we're working hard and making sure we don't do again."

The struggles of the 2007 side were hardly helped by their build-up immediately before the quarter-final failure, having progressed with a +274 points differential from the weakest pool at the tournament.

But before any alarm bells start ringing in that regard, Hansen believed it was simply another chance to right some wrongs, with the All Blacks needing to be smarter during the week while enjoying the luxury of training against "some of the best opposition in the world".

In case it wasn't already obvious, the coach was in calming mode while meeting the media mere hours before heading north. Hansen appreciated the angst of the fans but appeared unflappable as always.

"I understand why the public view it with anxiety, because they care so much and that's what makes New Zealand such a great place to be involved with rugby," he said. "But I don't have any anxiety - I'm excited. I can't wait."