KEY POINTS:
The French seaside city of Marseille screamed a rousing "Bonjour" to the All Blacks, who touched down on mainland Europe today to embark on their rugby World Cup campaign.
After the relative seclusion of 2-1/2 days in Corsica, reality hit home for the New Zealand players at a mayoral reception today where a vocal crowd of about 3000 gathered under a blazing hot early evening sun. Many had been there for over an hour to get the best vantage points.
The All Blacks arrived at the reception via a ferry boat, squeezing through hundreds of boats docked in the Vieux Port opposite the city's town hall, the Hotel De Ville.
It took security to prevent a mobbing as the players trailed up to a platform where Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin spoke and each player was presented with a medal.
There was unbridled crowd reaction as each of the players stepped forward.
The loudest cheer was for the very first name read out, that of first five-eighth Daniel Carter. Winger Joe Rokocoko would have been next on the decibel scale, followed by captain Richie McCaw.
McCaw evoked another roar when he offered a few words in French.
Loosely translated, he thanked them for the warm welcome and hoped France would host a good World Cup.
He and Carter were later the subject of much attention as the team faced the media.
President of the French Rugby Federation Bernard Lapasset then presented each of the players with ceremonial World Cup caps before they left to check into their hotel on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Coach Graham Henry enjoyed the fanfare although it surpassed what he had expected.
"It's surprising to me that they have all this enthusiasm and excitement for the rugby World Cup in Marseille," he said.
"They've always been very supportive in France. Obviously they support the French as their No 1 team but we hope we might be their No 2 team.
"We've been in a reasonably quiet environment for the last few days so this is good for the guys because they know they're in the World Cup."
Winger Doug Howlett had seen nothing like it since his All Blacks debut seven years ago.
"Having not played a game or anything, to walk into something like this, I'm quite taken aback," he said.
"To see the reactions, they all seem to know us by name, it's going to be a special place to stay."
The All Blacks are using Marseille as their training base for the first two weeks of the tournament.
Their first match is here against Italy starting on Saturday night (NZ time).
It will be down to business tomorrow for the All Blacks who will train at the recently-renovated Jean Bouin Stadium, with the team to face Italy named on Wednesday.
- NZPA
