Inga Tuigamala: Toughest battle of the year to be decided in wide open spaces

Opinion

It will be the blue wave versus the black wave on Sunday morning.

And while I'm delighted with many things about this All Black team, and impressed with their progress apart from what we saw against Italy, I'm only mildly confident of a victory in Marseille.

The reason for that is my respect for the French and their new way of operating, which is very cohesive. It is their ability to secure the ball and hold it for long periods that has really changed in their game.

They now swarm as one into the battles for possession, the way the All Blacks do, instead of relying on the rogue operators who used to stud their game.

In the past, the French had characters like Eric Champ who were basically thugs. As well as the team might play, there was always someone who would stray from the gameplan and ultimately give an advantage to their opponents.

But as we saw from the French on their tour here this year, and their heroic work in the World Cup quarter-final against us, France's coaches have instilled a new, more organised and disciplined way of doing things into their game.

There is structure and they will be buoyed by the success their teams are having in Europe.

While I suppose we will always feel that France run more hot and cold than most, I think they are to be feared on a more consistent basis now.

And one thing is certain, France understand what makes the All Blacks tick and how to upset their game.

France beat the world and Tri-Nations champions South Africa quite convincingly to my eyes, so there will be a terrific confidence in the camp.

With the European winter setting in, I don't expect this to be a free-flowing test.

It will be a hard out battle, with the fly halves dominating the game and much will depend on Dan Carter for us. I expect that, as against Wales, Carter will plug the corners and take the game from there.

Our lineout has made major progress - Andrew Hore and his jumpers are getting things right. This means Carter must be much more confident standing behind the lineouts which in turn will make him more assured in dictating the flow of the game.

Our scrum will face a major test, and in particular tighthead Neemia Tialata who struggled to control difficult situations against the tough Italians.

Versatility is good but it can also be a hinderance and having to play both sides of the scrum might not be in Tialata's best interests.

He has to knuckle down and really work that tighthead side. I suspect that Tialata is going to be placed under enormous pressure in this test.

In terms of selection, I am a little disappointed that Zac Guildford has missed out as I feel he has so much more to offer than Cory Jane, who is primarily a fullback.

Both Guildford and Sitiveni Sivivatu are specialist left wingers, but I have no doubt that Guildford has the skills to play on the right.

He has great speed and a high work rate and this would have been a wonderful opportunity to wind his development up a whole new level.

If I can roll the dice and pick a player to watch, then it would be Ma'a Nonu, who has a prime opportunity to show what damage he can cause in the toughest of situations.

I expect France to shorten the field, and their loose forwards can more than match ours for pace, which means the All Blacks will have to hunt for opportunities on the flanks. In a tight test, it will be a case of taking advantage of the rare opportunities that are created out wide.

* Inga Tuigamala played 19 tests for the All Blacks.