Richard Loe: French farce no surprise

I had to laugh when I heard the French had "discreetly dismissed" Philippe Saint-Andre and were coaching themselves ahead of Sunday morning's quarter-final against the All Blacks.

It was so typically French and doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

Having lived and played in France for four years in the 1980s and 1990s, I think the move could go one of two ways.

It could unite the team, like it did in 2011 when Marc Lievremont was effectively ousted by his players after the pool loss to Tonga, or see them disintegrate altogether like the French football side did at the 2010 World Cup.

There's often not a middle ground with the French and if it's the latter, the players will be roundly criticised for what they have reportedly done.

It's added another layer to what is already an intriguing match.

I don't think the All Blacks will worry too much about it. If I was still part of the team, I'd be saying that we just need to focus on ourselves and our game plan and I'm sure that's the message being emphasised.

I don't think it will make too much difference to the way the French play the game, either. The players will pretty much do whatever captain Thierry Dusautoir says anyway because he holds that much respect.

And if Steve Hansen was suddenly unavailable for an All Blacks match, it's not as if the players wouldn't know what to do. Hansen's lieutenants and captain Richie McCaw would take over and it wouldn't be a problem because they are so well drilled. Every scenario has been thought through and would have been communicated to the players from before they even left New Zealand.

The news of the last 24 hours doesn't make me any more or less nervous about the All Blacks' chances on Sunday. I expect them to win but I haven't raced off to the TAB to put the house or farm on them.

People have said France have been pretty ordinary for the past three or four years and won't be able to live with New Zealand but we know they can be difficult to overcome. If they turn up, we could be in trouble.

But it's time for the All Blacks to step things up. Man for man they are better than the French but we've seen only glimpses at this World of what they are capable of.

One thing that will help is the fact France have to actually try to win. Up to now, teams have largely tried to contain the All Blacks but the fact the French need to attack will create opportunities.

It's like what we used to say about the Ranfurly Shield: you had to try to win it every week because if you tried to defend it you would get in trouble.

I'm still confident the All Blacks will win the World Cup and I wouldn't be surprised to see an all-Southern Hemisphere quartet battling it out in the semifinals.