KEY POINTS:
CARDIFF - The All Blacks put their unbeaten record in rugby World Cup quarterfinals on the line at Millennium Stadium here on Sunday morning (NZ time).
Victory over France would make it six from six, and leave them as the only team yet to taste defeat at the quarterfinal stage of the tournament.
Last month, New Zealand preserved their record as the only unbeaten nation in pool play at every World Cup.
It is the semifinals where the record books don't make as much pretty reading for the All Blacks but the week leading up has always provided them with a comfortable win.
Perhaps their most comprehensive quarterfinal performance came at the 2003 tournament, where they eclipsed South Africa 29-9 at Melbourne's Telstra Dome.
The All Blacks forwards responded to criticism of their performance a week earlier against Wales to dominate the Springboks pack, creating room for the likes of Carlos Spencer to run amok.
Three of the four previous quarterfinals were against Scotland, with the exception being a scratchy 29-13 defeat of Canada at Lille in 1991.
All the Scottish matches were won easily enough although the All Blacks were outscored 15-5 in the second half of their 30-18 win at Edinburgh in 1999.
Six of the eight teams in action this weekend have reached the quarterfinals at every World Cup they have contested - New Zealand, Australia, France, England, Scotland and South Africa.
The other two teams, Argentina and Fiji, have reached this stage once each, in 1999 and 1987 respectively. Both tasted defeat.
- NZPA
