All Blacks: Ominous sense of deja vu

The French celebrate their historic 1994 test series win against the All Blacks. Photo / Paul Estcourt

We've been here before. One-nil down to the French in a two-test series, the mighty All Blacks facing the ignominy of being swept away at home by an opponent they had fatally underestimated.

Last time, on July 3, 1994, at Eden Park, it didn't end well.

Sean Fitzpatrick scored a try and Matthew Cooper kicked five penalties in a match the All Blacks dominated. But an early Emile Ntamack try and 11 points from the combined boots of Thierry Lacroix and Christophe Deylaud meant the French were still in touch as the clock ticked down to its final seconds.

A free kick gave first five-eighths Stephen Bachop the chance to clear. If he found touch the game was as good as over. He didn't and, as Cooper said this week, "then we were chasing - the rest is history".

"The try from the end of the world", was started by Philippe St Andre and ended by Jean-Luc Sadourny, with deft contributions from Jean-Michel Gonzalez, Deylaud, Abdel Benazzi, Ntamack, Laurent Cabannes and Guy Accoceberry.

It was St Andre who coined the phrase "counterattack from the end of the world". For the All Blacks, it spelled the end of an era.

When they took the field in Johannesburg for the World Cup final just 11 months later, seven of the players who had chased their tails against the French were missing.

Cooper has reason to recall the Eden Park defeat with particular clarity. Although he toured South Africa two years later and played in the mid-week matches, he never played another test.

He knew going into the match that he needed a big game. And he knew at the final whistle that the writing was on the wall.

"You knew there was a new breed coming through," he said.

"It was almost the end of the Laurie Mains era. There was a group trying to hang in for the 1995 World Cup but reality said there was too much young talent coming through." Andrew Mehrtens, Jeff Wilson, Walter Little and Glen Osborne headed the group banging on the door.

Cooper has the good grace to admit the series defeat merely hastened the inevitable.

"Those guys were just hanging around in 1994 but quite frankly they were at another level. If we had won the series 2-0 most of that side would have gone through to the World Cup. Even though we lost that World Cup, that most probably would have been the wrong thing.

"I knew that I had to have a really special game because of the talent that was hanging around. If the ball had gone out ... but it didn't and then we were chasing."

Already in a rebuilding phase, the All Black side is unlikely to face a similar purge if history repeats in Wellington tonight. But the challenges facing the All Blacks tonight haven't changed much in 15 years.

"It was very similar to the current situation," Cooper said.

"We got taken to the cleaners in Christchurch by a French team that came with a far more physical approach and dominated the All Black forward pack.

"They played a very sound game based on enthusiasm and passion and they were physically very strong. And that's what I saw in Dunedin last week.

"Their defence is so swarming. It is not huge defence, it never felt as though they were hitting you that hard. But they were right in your face and there was no way through. It really cut off your options. And then they had a bit of flair, where they could turn nothing into something."

Increased aggression and better execution of the basics were the keys to the All Blacks avoiding a similar fate tonight, Cooper said.

"They'll be hurting but they have to arrive with more attitude. You can have all the information coming from the stands but unless they arrive with a real desire and ruthless attitude and make the French team wonder what they are in for in the first 10 minutes then they will just feed off it.

"It's a pretty tough one to pick."

As for 1994, Cooper certainly isn't haunted by any ghosts.

"They were too good on the day and you have to accept it. The French team rose to the challenge."

Just as they have done in 2009. The common thread is Ntamack, a dazzling wing in the 1994 series and assistant coach of the current side.

History also provides some solace. The bounce back from the 1994 series defeat was spectacular, with the All Blacks losing just four of their next 40 games.