Colin Meads: Complacency the enemy - first 20 minutes the key

Despite missing a few penalties, Piri Weepu was the key against Australia and he'll be key again. Photo / Dean Purcell

I just want to say to the All Blacks, don't think we've got it won - that's the big thing.

This French coach who's been telling us they're an uncontrollable lot, they've got bad habits and all that sort of thing. I think that's all just a bit of bullshit really.

I was talking to a French journalist on talkback radio this week and he said, "Oh, we've got as good a scrum as any team in the cup." And I thought, "Okay, they didn't look that good when we played them last time."

Then he said the French have the best loose forward trio of any team in the competition. So I thought, "Hell, they lost two games in pool play, how are they so bloody good?"

So it just tells me, don't be complacent - while we dominated in the forwards last week, we might not this week.

And you've got to be worried about all the talk this week. It gets to the players, even though they say it doesn't, it still gets into their minds and makes them feel pretty good.

The French are going to be thinking, "We've got to go out and give it to these buggers." The first 20 minutes will be vital in this game.

If the French get early points, which they can do - if they get on a roll - we could be in trouble because once they get ahead they open up and give everything a go and their forwards go up another cog.

So we've got to start with a roar, get early points then knock them back; then the French will believe what they've read in the papers.

Piri Weepu, despite missing a few penalties last week, was the key against Australia and he'll be key again. In the first half it'll all be penalties; in this World Cup stuff it's hard to score tries. So we'll have to play in their half and kick our goals.

To those expecting 40 or 50 points, this is a World Cup final and you don't get big scores in World Cup finals.

I hope those optimistic pundits are right, so we can all relax after the All Blacks are 30 or 40 points up, but I don't see it that way - the French are better than that. And they'll play way above themselves. And that's why I say the first 20 minutes are the key.

So, the All Blacks' keys to victory: Play like you did last week and be prepared to give a bit more than that if you have to.

Like last week I'm picking a close game for 55 minutes then the All Blacks to pull away and win by 12.