KEY POINTS:
CARDIFF - The All Blacks lineout faces a substantial litmus test here on Sunday morning (8am, NZ time) as France pin hopes on an aerial assault to win their World Cup quarterfinal here.
So often fingered as a weak point of the All Blacks' armoury, hooker Anton Oliver and his jumpers will need to be on-song at Millennium Stadium against opponents who appear to be throwing their eggs into one oversized basket.
It is hard to recall a more experienced tight five in world rugby than what France will field, with the recall of 116-test former captain Fabien Pelous at lock boosting their combined test tally to 364.
Pelous and second row partner Jerome Thion are their premier lineout pair and will provide opposites Ali Williams and Keith Robinson with the sort of challenge the New Zealanders have sorely missed in pool play.
Helping Williams and Robinson prepare has been reserve lock Chris Jack, a veteran of six tests against France.
He had cast aside the initial disappointment at missing a starting spot and was revelling in helping his colleagues prepare for the obvious French tactic on Sunday - to kick for position and attack New Zealand's lineout ball.
"If they're going to have a go at you, that's what we enjoy, that's why we play the game," said Jack said, who believed the lineout had now developed into a natural part of the All Blacks' game rather than something they had to fret about on a constant basis.
"It's the most simple lineout. We've gone from changing every week, to sticking to a set plan and going with it," he said.
"At the moment it's working well for us. Teams are starting to put more pressure on us but as we get more quality opposition, that's going to happen."
Jack expressed surprise Pelous was playing, believing Lionel Nallet would have provided a more mobile and effective option.
French hooker and captain Raphael Ibanez indicated that disrupting All Blacks set piece possession was the first step to unhinging their routines.
"We know they're very confident but you can knock their machine out of synch; throw some sand into the gearbox. When that happens their beliefs can turn into doubts," Ibanez said.
"They have world-class players in lots of positions. All their players are very strong, which makes our task harder. But a match of rugby is never won or lost until you've played it - and believe me, we're really going to play this match."
Observers believe France have a lineout edge in the leaping ability of their loose forwards but that was disputed by All Blacks No 8 Rodney So'oialo, one of the team's premier ball winners in 2007.
"I feel we've come a long way with our back three in the lineouts," he said.
"(But) We've got to get the little things right. The lifting and all the setups."
Jack revealed the All Blacks had failed to meet certain criteria set for themselves in pool play, which made them all the more determined this weekend.
"We judge ourselves against ourselves, we always have," he said.
"Our biggest disappointment is when we don't do what we train or what we want.
"And at times during this World Cup we have disappointed ourselves."
A good example was the scrum, where tighthead prop Carl Hayman hoped the All Blacks would improve on early tournament efforts.
"I don't think in the games up to now that we have really nailed it. Hopefully that will come on Saturday night," he said.
"If you look at the French ethos about rugby, much of it is about the scrum. There are plenty of great scrummagers around France,.
"In any game getting early pressure in the scrum is key. There is going to be a lot of pressure on Saturday in the set piece."
The French front row of Ibanez and props Oliver Milloud and Pieter de Villiers packed down in last year's test at Paris, won 23-11 by New Zealand.
The hosts' scrum was considerably more solid than the combination a week earlier at Lyon, when the All Blacks blasted them off the park.
The most one-sided scrum contest recently between the nations came at Paris three years ago, when French front-rowers kept hobbling from the field in pain.
Eventually the white flag was raised, as uncontested scrums were called, representing an unforgettable victory in the eyes of Oliver.
"It did feel like we did get on top of them that day, and we don't feel that very often, not against such high quality opposition like the French," Oliver said.
- NZPA
