KEY POINTS:
CARDIFF - The All Blacks say complacency is a greater enemy than France when they venture into rugby World Cup sudden death territory here tomorrow morning (NZ time).
Captain Richie McCaw and his men will stride with purpose rather than tread tentatively into a white-hot atmosphere at Millennium
Stadium.
Any thought of defeat - and with it New Zealand's earliest exit from any World Cup - will be far from their thoughts.
The tournament hosts will want to unearth the brilliance of their 1999 semifinal but it is hard to foresee France halting a dreadful run of seven mainly one-sided defeats at the hands of the All Blacks since 2002.
That record served no benefit now to the All Blacks, McCaw said.
In fact it had the potential to induce a sense of his world No 1 ranked side taking France lightly but that was something McCaw was sure his teammates couldn't be found guilty of.
"The games where we haven't gone so well, we've perhaps been complacent, we haven't prepared as we have other days," he said.
"Hopefully we've learned from that. You learn what works in big test matches and hopefully we've got a few experiences in the bag that will help us."
McCaw is part of a loose forward trio the All Blacks will want to see dominate the tackle exchanges and limit the attacking opportunities for a French team who seem set to rely largely on kicking for territory.
Fellow-flanker Jerry Collins agreed New Zealand's recent domination of France meant nothing in a one-off game.
"A sports psychologist could use it but you know every game is different," Collins said.
"It's a totally different feel to the pool games, where you're just trying to get stuff right.
"From here on in you get one go to get it right.
"For both teams, it's a long way to swim home if we lose on Sunday."
Asked if it would be a high-scoring match, a relaxed Collins replied: "Hopefully one way".
Conditions certainly shouldn't prevent a fast-moving affair, with a firm surface and solid cover of grass a far cry from some of the patchy surfaces the All Blacks have experienced at the ground in recent seasons.
"It's a marvellous stadium, I think it's the best stadium in the world," said coach Graham Henry, who was Welsh national coach when the massive venue was completed eight years ago.
"The grass hasn't always lived up to the standard of the stadium."
Henry noted counterpart Bernard Laporte had named a very experienced side.
He said the inclusion of 116-cap lock Fabien Pelous and the retention of Damien Traille out of position at fullback suggested Laporte wanted players who had "been there and done it before", which was understandable for such a huge game.
There would be few surprises from Traille and young first five-eighth Lionel Beauxis, Henry added.
"It's fair to say they're going to kick it, and kick it a lot I'd say. I think we'll be bombarded."
Both Henry and McCaw were unsure which team would enjoy the greater crowd support.
A newspaper article today (eds: The Western Mail) suggested up to 25,000 French supporters had secured late tickets.
A similar number of New Zealanders are expected to fill seats in the 79,000 capacity stadium, with the rest of the crowd neutral, comprising mainly Welsh and Irish fans.
The All Blacks hoped to receive their fair share of the neutral support.
"An All Blacks team in Wales feels comfortable because they're in a rugby environment," Henry said.
"It's not our home ground although we do enjoy playing here."
Henry said first five-eighth Daniel Carter had trained well yesterday on his improving calf strain and again today so shaped as a likely starter.
However, a new injury had infiltrated the squad, with reserve hooker Keven Mealamu in doubt after picking up a hamstring niggle at training yesterday.
Mealamu was to be assessed on the day of the game and, if unfit, would be replaced on the bench by Andrew Hore.
"I think he's touch and go at the moment," Henry said.
- NZPA
