France aren't great. Here's why

It's probably because they won, pulled off a miraculous victory, that the French want to relive 2007 and tell the All Blacks there are World Cup ghosts waiting for them at Millennium Stadium.

History is the only premise on which the French can find hope ahead of their quarterfinal clash with the All Blacks. The past remains their only guide: their only life raft to which they can cling.

The objective assessment of the French is that they are not a great team. They have built their philosophy on defence and pragmatism and it hasn't worked for them. They have been one-paced, one-dimensional and one big disappointment. So far.

But wrap the fixture in emotion: cloud the picture with stories of All Black failure and panic eight years ago and maybe there is hope. Maybe they can chip away at the All Black psyche, get under their skin and have them all hot and bothered before a ball is even kicked.

It worked in 2007, so why not now? There's so many reasons why not, it's hard to know where to start.

There's validity to Daniel Carter's assertion that history is not a burden for the majority of the All Black squad. Only three of them - himself, Richie McCaw and Keven Mealamu - actually played in Cardiff eight years ago. Most of the rest of them were too young to remember - both Sam Cane and Brodie Retallick revealing they didn't watch the game or have much of a memory of it even being on.

For the three who were there, too much water has flowed under the bridge for that game to have any psychological currency. Again, as Carter says, that night has become folklore in the wider New Zealand memory, but not to the All Blacks.

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There were other specific things about the build-up to that game eight years ago that were peculiar and won't be repeated.

As may have been forgotten, there was a small war waged over which jerseys would be worn. The French blue jersey - which they had the right to wear - was dark enough to present an issue.

The All Blacks tried to persuade the IRB to force the French into their reserve white jersey and when that failed they tried to argue that the French blue jersey would also clash with their alternative silver jersey which had large patches of black.

Local club teams were asked to play in the respective kits and for the game to be filmed to see what clashed and what didn't. The outcome was France would wear blue with white shorts and red socks and the All Blacks would wear silver. It felt like a major victory to the French - that the All Blacks had lost a pointless battle: when they should have simply accepted they were wearing their alternate shirt and got on with it.

There was also the entirely curious business of McCaw extending his contract the day before the game. A huge decision, a huge thing in his life and it was happening the day before?

It didn't put him off his game as such but it was indicative of the fact there were peripheral issues that were distracting: that the All Blacks weren't as cognitive as they should have been that knockout football is all about one game at a time.

When they picked their starting side, they included Keith Robinson. Not because he was the best lock as such but be cause they were worried that if he's had so little football, that if he didn't play in the quarterfinal he'd be a no-go for the semi.

Looking back it was all wrong. There was a level of unappreciated complacency - or perhaps it's fairer to say, ignorance within the All Black camp about what it took to win a World Cup.

France may well beat the All Blacks on Sunday morning, but it will be because they have outplayed them. Not because the All Blacks were consumed and paralysed by history. They aren't going to make that mistake.

- By Gregor Paul in Swansea