David Leggat: Match could reveal depth of All Black character

David Leggat

"I want you to go to a bar and watch the rugby," said the boss.

As assignments go, this was shaping up nicely, considering that a colleague and I were at the time in the delightful town of Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. The date was October 6, 2007, the All Blacks were preparing to face France in their World Cup quarter-final in Cardiff.

"I want you to write about what it's like standing in a packed bar in France watching the All Blacks beat their lot," the boss added.

"No problem."

Safe to say, said piece was not required 24 hours later, as the mood of the nation turned black, and scorn piled down upon the men in grey. Fitting colour for that night, too.

It is also safe to say the night was an absolute ripper. The locals were up on the tables and chairs, dancing and chanting. "Allez les Bleus!", "Vive la France!" Four walls of sound bouncing round the building, and the night also provided confirmation that it's not just the French players who shed the odd tear while belting out La Marseillaise.

Gotta love those French. Unless you're the All Blacks and their coaching triumvirate, who have doubtless spent the past few days muttering darkly about the visitors and their propensity for turning best-laid All Black plans to bouillabaisse.

It's an old line to say the French can be paupers or princes depending on which side of the bed they've emerged from on match day.

And yet, rather like Pakistan's cricket team - who have gone from being distinctly ordinary 10 days ago to the brink of an improbable world Twenty20 title in England early on Monday - France can bring delight and despair, sometimes in a five-minute window.

You can see the All Blacks winning tonight, rebounding hard from an unexpected setback and all that; and if you look again, it's also possible to visualise another French victory. And in a nutshell, there's the intrigue of the contest.

And remember it's not as if they've never before flown home from New Zealand with a played two, won two test record.

There have been some peculiar pronouncements from the All Black camp in the past two weeks.

Yesterday coach Graham Henry said the first test, and the days following, meant his players had "got their feet under the table a bit now and they know what test rugby is all about".

The first bit you can follow, in the sense of having got the opening test of the year out of the way, combinations and all that. But the second?

Tonight captain Mils Muliaina plays his 70th test; Keven Mealamu his 67th; Joe Rokocoko his 54th; Tony Woodcock his 51st; Ma'a Nonu his 35th; and Neemia Tialata his (gulp) 34th. You'd like to think they've got a rough idea what it's all about by now.

True, four others from Carisbrook have played five or fewer. But of them, Cory Jane was the pick of the backs, Kieran Read is tipped for big things and Isaac Ross, on debut, was pretty impressive.

"Hopefully they'll be ready for war tomorrow night," Henry added.

What's with these battlefield analogies?

In any case, more is learned from defeat than victory, certainly in the character that emerges from it. Rafael Nadal made that point the other week after losing his first game at the French Open in five years.

"You need a defeat to give value to your victories," he said.

We'll find out tonight whether the All Blacks learned from Carisbrook.

At one large gathering last Saturday night, there was remarkably little reaction to the French victory.

It was almost as if it was half-expected. Perhaps that's where the All Blacks are at right now - still expected to win, but when they don't it's c'est la vie.

At least against France.