Rugby: French 'revelation' Mathieu Babillot arrives fresh from Top 14 victory

Mathieu Babillot, one of the potential surprise packets of the French tour arrives in Auckland today fresh from a stunning and unexpected win by his side in the final of the Top 14 on Saturday.

After Castres Olympique catapulted themselves through France's top domestic competition to beat much more fancied sides and then in the final to down Montpelier, the team everyone expected to win, you could say Babillot knows what it's like to play David against a rugby Goliath ahead of this weekend's first test in the French tour of New Zealand.

The 24-year-old blindside flanker has been described as a "revelation" by French rugby scribes.

Babillot was elevated to captain Castres during the season when regular skipper Rodrigo Capo-Ortega was injured. He has only played a single test for France, against Italy in this year's Six Nations, but was in the Barbarians team that beat the Maori All Blacks last November.

Before flying from Toulouse early yesterday, Babilot told local media that Castres had approached the Top 14 final against Montpelier as if they were facing the Terminator … "and we all know how he ended up," he said.

"Now there are three big games that await us in New Zealand," he said.

Yesterday, the French squad already assembled in Auckland trained in the pouring rain at QBE Stadium, working on their defence. At a press conference earlier in the day, Steve Hansen said the All Blacks would be facing the best defensive line in the world according to the statistics.

Among the French players in town, fly-half Anthony Belleau was telling French media of his pride at being in New Zealand playing against the world's best. "When they play together, it feels like they are superhuman," he said, praising in particular Beauden Barrett: "I had the chance to play against him during my first selection in November," he said. "His speed, his vision of the game and his technical quality are impressive."

As for staring down the haka before the start of a test Belleau said it felt like a privilege to experience that on the field. "It's like when we're going to see a movie in VIP ... it's a great moment that gives a lot of motivation. "